Chardon church of Christ

Making Wise Decisions

Making Wise Decisions

Matthew 7:13-27

 

A store that sells new husbands has opened in New York City where a woman can go in and choose a husband. This is fictitious, by the way. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates. You may visit the store only once. There are five floors and the value may increase as the shopper ascends from one floor to the next. The shopper may choose any item from that particular floor or they may choose to go up to the next floor, but once you go up you may not go back down.

 

A curious single woman enters and reads the sign hanging above floor number one. Floor one, these men have jobs. She is intrigued but continues to the next floor. Floor two, these men have jobs and love kids. Oh, that's nice, she thinks, but I want more. So, she continues up to the next floor. Floor three, these men have jobs, love kids and are extremely good looking. Wow, she thinks, but she feels compelled to move on. Floor four, these men have jobs, they love kids. They're drop dead gorgeous, and they help with housework. Oh, mercy me, she says, I can hardly stand it. She is tempted to stay. She doesn't know what to do. Finally, her curiosity gets to her. After a long period of time of wondering, she finally goes up to the final level, the fifth floor. With excitement, as she reaches the floor, she immediately sees an enormous sign that says, you are visitor number 31,456,012. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please.

 

Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

 

As Robert Frost wrote, “two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry, I could not travel both. And being one traveler alone, I stood and looked down as far as I could.” At the end, he says, “two roads diverged in a wood. And I took the one less traveled by. That has made all the difference.”

 

Looking that up, and of course, that was only just a snippet of the beginning and the end of that poem. It's a lengthy poem. He wrote that for a friend who was very indecisive in his life. That poem was actually written as a joke, if you look that up. It says it was kind of a humorous little joke to his friend who could never make up his mind.

 

Today, we're looking at facing life's daily questions. Throughout the Bible, we have numerous examples of choices made by a variety of individuals we think about some are good, as we read through the Bible. Some choices were good. Some were not so good. Some led to life. Some led to death.

 

The Book of Proverbs is almost entirely devoted to the comparison between the wise person and the foolish person.

 

Take Moses as an example. Deuteronomy 30:19-20. “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.”

 

That was Moses. We see in Joshua 24 verses we're very familiar with verses 14 and 15. This is Joshua speaking.

 

Now therefore, fear the Lord. Serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose this day for yourselves whom you shall serve this day. So choose you.

 

He's challenging them.

 

Choose who you will serve this day, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you currently dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

 

Every day, we're faced with decisions. We will be wise, or as the Bible says, we will be foolish in the decisions we make. The little funny story I tried to put at the beginning. You see, it was rather foolish to try to keep thinking you wanted more and more, but that's what human society does.

 

Jesus gives us three important questions to ask ourselves to ensure that we are following the way of the wise and not the way of the foolish.

 

I. WHICH PATH ARE YOU TRAVELING ON?

Question number one, which path are you traveling on? You need to know where you're going. Do you ever have that? Do you ever have that feeling that, “Oh man, I'm on vacation. I'm making great time, but I'm not quite sure where we're at. I'm not sure if I'm on the right path or not.”

 

Matthew 7, Jesus speaking in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:13-14, “Jesus says, enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction. And there are many who go in by it, because narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way which leads to life. And there are few that find it.”

 

The foolish person says, “Hey, there are no boundaries. There's nothing keeping me back. I can do what I want.” The world thinks total freedom with no restrictions is the goal that we should live by.

 

Proverbs 14:12 tells us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

 

We can look in Proverbs 3:5-6 that tells us, “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.”

 

We compare these two ways—the broad way. The broad way is kind of like the interstate, the international highway. You can travel very fast. You can get cruising. When I travel on the PA Turnpike I have a moral obligation to travel the speed limit. As a Christian person, you think that limit's there for a reason. Many times though, I find that the flow of traffic is so fast that it's almost like you get caught in the current of the flow.

 

You think about, where's everybody going? You can travel fast, but where are you headed? You can get enticed by the many billboards along the way. You can quickly exit the highway, and at various points, as you drive along, you can quickly exit, you can partake in whatever pleasure without accountability, and get right back on the highway again.

 

That's what Jesus is talking about. Reminds me of that little phrase, your mother always asks you or somebody asks you, if people, if everybody else jumped off the bridge, would you jump too? In life, that's what it seems like, right? I remember as a teacher, whenever I asked a student, why they did it, well, everybody else is doing it. How many times do you hear that? That's what Jesus is referring to as the broad way everyone else is doing it, that doesn't make it right.

 

Then He speaks of the narrow road. It's more like that winding rural road. It's not easy to find, and therefore, it's not easy to get at. You have to be careful, and you have to look for it. I'm sure we've all done that on the GPS. You're driving along, and all of a sudden, it says, turn here, and you think, where? I mean, this is just a tiny road, are you kidding me? You have to be careful. You have to know that it's there, and you have to look for it. It's very restrictive.

 

The word translated narrow is from the Greek word, and from my understanding, that Greek word is tribulation, which usually means persecution, which tells us that we have to leave our baggage behind. The wise person realizes that the way to life is a very narrow way, as it's taught in the Bible.

 

John 14:6, Jesus says to him, what does Jesus say? I'm sure we're all familiar with this.

 

John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

We go to 1^st Timothy 2:5, “for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

We're pursuing that narrow path. Pursuing it is an ongoing decision. We enter the narrow way when we first decide to follow Jesus, but we must continue daily to make wise decisions in order to stay on that. You ask for directions.

 

Everybody wants you to take the road, the big road. Oh yeah, I know where that goes. No, we don't wanna do that. We gotta stay focused on taking the narrow road. To head on the wide pathway to hell requires you to do absolutely nothing…nothing in your life. I don't want to just sit and do nothing. Well, in the world, that's all you really have to do to head on that wide path. Simply follow the crowd.

 

The second question Jesus asks us.

 

The first question, what path are we on? How do we know which path?

II. WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO?

The second question He gives us to ask ourselves is, who are you listening to?

 

Matthew 7:15-22. “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, they are ferocious wolves.

By their fruit, you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name or in your name drive out demons or perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you.” Depart or away from me, you evildoers. Depart from me, you that work iniquity.

 

Jesus is condemning more than just false teaching. He is discouraging false behavior, impure motives, and inconsistent actions. Jesus points to the fruit as the essential method of discerning what is false and what is true.

 

In Israel, the buckthorn plant, from what I understand, produced little black berries that could initially be mistaken for grapes. There was also a thistle that produced a flower similar to the fig. So the idea of carefully examining the fruit of the plant, the plant that they were looking at, was a familiar one to those that were listening to Jesus.

 

How do we tell a false teacher from a true one? We should pay attention to the content of their teaching, to their motives. Is it true fruit from God's word or is it man-centered, appealing to the ears that want to be tickled?

 

III. WHAT ARE YOU BUILDING ON?

The third question that we ask ourselves. Jesus gives us a question of what are we building on? What is the foundation? Robert's very familiar with that as he examines buildings and whatever. What is the foundation it is built on?

 

Matthew 7, verses 24, 25, 26, and 27. Jesus, again, speaking in the Sermon on the Mount. “Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them is likened to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rains descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rains descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell. Great was the fall.”

 

When we were kids, we used to sing that. The wise man built his, the foolish man. And we couldn't wait to get to the end. You see the kids getting faster and faster. And that house went SPLAT! Sorry. We think about that and the excitement we had.

 

My wife and I just celebrated our anniversary, we went down to Hilton Head Island. We just recently started to do that to celebrate. It was one year from my heart surgery and our anniversary. But one of the things, it's called, if you ever go to the water, we love to see the water come in, but how dangerous it is. In the morning, early morning, you see the wave way out, and then you can see them start to come in.

 

Kids, if you don't pay attention, you know, the kids start putting their sandcastles, they start making the sandcastles and so on. One time when we were real young, we put our blanket and our, you know, put everything out, our chairs and everything all out. We wondered why everybody was way behind us. We thought, well, they don't want to enjoy the ocean? Yeah, and then you go up for lunch and you come back and you understand why. You're flooded, you know, everything's, the water comes in and then that's what I picture what Jesus is saying.

 

That sand, it's beautiful, but that water comes in and your sandcastles and so on just get washed away. There isn't substance to it. Whereas the rocks and so on, that foundation, what foundation are we building on? Jesus continues through the Sermon on the Mount to get people to think long-term.

 

Here's how Paul puts it in Galatians 6:7-8. Paul says, “do not be deceived. God is not mocked.”

 

You can fool some of the people some of the time and all of the people or whatever, but you can't fool Mom. God is really that way.

 

Paul says, do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that also he shall reap. For whoever sows to his flesh will reap flesh and that corruption. But whoever sows to the Spirit will, of the Spirit, reap everlasting life.

 

The wise person says, I'm going to plan for eternity.

 

What does James 1:22 tell us?

 

James 1:22 tells us, “but be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourself.”

 

I like to notice the similarities between these builders, the wise and the foolish. Notice the similarities. Both are building houses. Both have a similar life situation. They're going through storms of life. It's that storm that proves to be the difference though, isn't it? We have to understand that when we're building something, that that building is going to be tested. What are the differences between the two builders? They're two different kinds of people. They build on two different kinds of foundations. The first hears the word and builds upon it. The second hears the word, but chooses to ignore it.

 

The two have different outcomes. One house stands firm. The other is completely destroyed. We know that that parable is an inspiration for that great old gospel song. My hope is built on nothing less, song number 120, than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest fame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. And then we get to the chorus. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. So we have two different underlying principles.

 

If you're only hearing and reading the truth, but are not prepared for life's storms that come up, if your foundation is sure no storm will cause your life to collapse. Sister Mary asked for prayers for people that she knows. We all know people, I know, in our lives that need that reassurance. There are people constantly potent in life. We know that life is not friendly to us in general. Society, we have constant, face constant challenges in our lives. But God tries us and then sees what foundation we're building on.

 

Jesus didn't preach this message so it would sound nice or so that we could sit around and discuss it like this morning. He preached it so that we could act on it. He emphasized obedience.

 

I heard this the other day and I found this interesting. In the audience, I'd like just to offer you $1,440. Each one of you today--$1,440. I'd like you to ponder that. There are some stipulations though. I'm gonna give you $1,440 on your way out, maybe. But you cannot carry it past this evening. This $1,440 must be spent, used at the end of tonight, at midnight. It can be taken away from you at any time. Today, I offer you that money. But it could be taken away at any time. And you would have to spend it before midnight. And I only say that just to get your attention. Obviously, I'm not really gonna do that. I don't have that much money. But that's a comparison to what God gives us.

 

This person said, now that we got your attention, God gives us exactly 1,440 minutes a day. We can't go back. We have to use them during this day. At midnight, they're used up. And they can be taken from us at any time. Any time during the day, that time, those minutes can be spent. We think about, how do we use the minutes that God gives us?

 

My conclusion today.

 

Everything that is extremely valuable can be counterfeited. We think about all the things that are valuable in life. There's a counterfeit. Gold. Fool's gold. Gems. Fake gems. Gem buyers today must be aware of three types of gems that I understand. You have the synthetic gems that are lab-grown stones. They closely duplicate the natural gem's physical qualities and chemical properties. Or we have simulated gems that are man-made. The color of the simulated stone may be similar to that of a natural gem, but it is very different both physically and chemically. Or we have enhanced gems that are natural gems altered in some way to improve their look. I bring this up to say that experts advise buyers to verify a stone's value with gem testing labs.

 

I guess there's a Gemological Institute of America. And you can go there or have them verify before any final sales are made. It is the same with truth. Jesus is sharing throughout the Bible. We must ensure we are not falling to false teachers. On that day, we will stand alone before God. Every day, we are building a foundation in our lives based on which path we travel and who we listen to and what foundation we're building upon.

 

It's time for us this morning to make our decision. Have I chosen the right gate? Am I traveling the right road? Does my tree bear the correct good fruit? Am I following those who teach the truth? Is my faith being demonstrated in what I do? Do I truly know God and am I following the teachings of the New Testament?

 

The lesson is yours this morning to ponder those questions. And if you are in need in any way, if you are one that has not taken the steps to being baptized, becoming a Christian, we ask you to do that this morning, then consider that.

 

Or if you are in need of the prayers of the congregation, whatever your need is, you have the opportunity to come forward as together we stand and sing our song of invitation.

Amazing Love

Amazing Love

John 3:16

 

INTRO: Good morning church. We will be continuing our look at John’s Gospel and are reading this amazing message that John is teaching concerning salvation. We have reached John 3:16 which I think is probably one of the most recognized verses in scripture. It is frequently quoted, and so is Matthew 7:1, though these days Matthew 7:1 is probably quoted more and sadly, all too often by those who do not understand it.

 

Our focus today is John 3:16 which we all know well, though I hope not so well that it no longer has any impact. I want to talk about the significance of what is being summarized by John here.

 

We will start with a review of lessons on the New Birth to recall the context and remind ourselves what is going on in this scene. I’m not going to have a lot of new verses to look at today and mostly refer to what we have already learned in previous lessons.

 

We're still in Jesus' discussion with Nicodemus, and you will recall that as we ended chapter 2 John pointed out that there is “belief” on the part of the Jews, but it is insufficient belief. They are believing because they see the signs that Jesus is doing, but it is not leading to life transformation, so Jesus does not believe them or entrust Himself to them. Jesus knows their hearts and the shallowness of their belief.

 

Nicodemus comes to Jesus, and he shows some belief. He recognizes and admits, confesses - that Jesus has come from God. Jesus turns to Nicodemus and tells him, unless you experience the new birth, unless you're born again, born from above, you're by no means in the kingdom of God. This leads into a discussion back and forth about what this new birth is all about.

 

We looked at the imagery Jesus used in John 3:13 when He says no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the son of man. We then compared it to what Moses said in Deuteronomy 30 and Paul’s reference to Moses in Romans 10:5-8. We saw this salvation is going to come about by God bringing it to the world.

 

Next, we read John 3:14-15 and found the parallel in the Book of Numbers where the people of Israel are complaining and rebelling against God. There we see them dying in the wilderness, being bitten by serpents that have been sent to strike them for their error. The people cry out to Moses to do something, and God tells Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole, and those who would look upon it would be healed of the venom.

 

Jesus then parallels that to Himself in these verses, “… even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

 

I. For God Loved The World In This Way – That brings us to John 3:16 and I’m going to read it from the Holman Christian Standard – “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” I think this is useful as it captures a little bit more of what Jesus is saying about salvation and what is being offered.

A. The idea is not merely to describe the intensity of God's love, which is I suspect often how it's portrayed and read, God SO loved the world. Obviously, the intensity is there. God is clearly describing the depths of His love for His people.

1. However, the Greek word for “so” houtos, occurs over 200 times in the NT and almost without exception it is an adverb of manner, not degree. I suggest that intensity is not the full idea but that it is describing - this is the way that God shows His love.

2. If we are looking for any declaration to know that God loves people, that God loves His creation, this is what we are to look to… this magnificent event… that God sent His son.

3. That's the idea of ‘so loved the world’. This is the way that He loved the world. This is how He showed His love. This is the proof, the demonstration. The Apostle Paul would write about God’s love for us in Romans chapter 5, Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is how we know that God's love exists for us. This is how we can see it.

4. We may have experienced this ourselves or seen others wonder: how do I know that God loves me? We look for something contemporary that God is going to do. He is going to keep me alive, give me lots of money, make sure my dog never dies. People can come up with all kinds of things as to why I'm going to know that God cares. It is as if we are saying, God, if you'll just do this, then I'll know you love me.

5. How God shows He loves us though, is this one grand event that we can always point to. This is how you know the love of God. This is how it has been forever displayed… that He gave His only son.

B. I submit that is a statement that should cause us to stop and wonder; how can it be possible for the infinite, all-powerful, Holy God to love finite, weak, sinful humanity? Have you ever thought, how can God do this? How about, why would He do this? We are awful, sinful, rebellious, wicked people who deserve absolutely nothing, and you are the holy, right, just, God. How can you possibly love us? We are a mess.

1. I mean, think about the scene in the wilderness, which is what Jesus connects to in verses 14 and 15. When we read the book of Numbers, I think all of us become a little shocked. The people are wandering in the wilderness and they are complaining at every turn.

2. They are complaining about what they are eating. They are complaining there is no water. They are complaining about the duration, complaining about Moses leadership. Complaining that they are not getting to keep the stuff that they had back in Egypt. They are complaining that Egypt was better than where they were going. They are complaining and complaining.

3. How can God be so good to these people? They are sinning, and then they are compounding their sins. They are essentially saying to God, you are a worthless God, you do not care about us. We would have been better off without you. We should have stayed in Egypt. Life was better there. How dare you be a God to us that would take us out of that place? You are just awful because you are not giving us what we want, your care is terrible.

4. In fact, your leader is terrible. Remember how they rise up and tried to stone Moses and Aaron so they could go back to Egypt. (Numbers 14:10). Why does God not just turn His back on them? Why not do that to us?

5. This is the verse. This is the summary statement of what it is all about. In such staggering words that God would love a wicked world. God. loves. us. He loves people. He loves His creation.

C. It is important that we get to the heart of that. We must get a grasp of that—that kind of depth of love that God has for every single human being.

1. Paul tries to bring that to us in a number of ways when he writes in Ephesians - Ephesians 2:4, “4. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,”. Rich in mercy because of the great love that He has for us.

2. Then in Ephesians 3:17f, “ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

3. What Paul tells us here always strikes me whenever I read it. He says, “I want you to know what cannot be known. I want you to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. You are never going to find the end of the love of God.”

4. That is what John 3:16 does. It gives us this amazing thought that there is no boundary to God's love. His love is so vast, and it is so amazing.

II. God Gave - Throughout the pages of scripture we see God loving and providing… and as we see here in verse 16… giving. He is giving to His people.

A. That is something that should shock us as well. It is easy to read; God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. We kind of blow through that—but think about the concept of what that means.

1. It is the creation that ought to be giving to the creator. It is not the creator who ought to be giving. He is God. We are the ones who are in debt. We are the ones who should be giving everything. What staggering words! He is the one who gave. We are the ones who should be giving back to him.

2. Yet, we read that God gave. God sacrificed. In the face of the rebellion of this world…God gave. While people are sinning, while people are enemies of God, God is giving a means for salvation. God is giving a way to bring people back.

B. I think that again connects us to the imagery of verses 14 and 15. As the people are dying in the wilderness because of the serpent bites, did God have to do anything?

1. I mean I look at it as, Why should God do anything? You are complaining. You don’t like the way I am taking you? You don't want to go to The Promised Land? You think you are better off dying? -- There you go. -- This is what you asked for. You don't want to be with Me, you don't want to have a relationship with Me, then why should I do anything for a rebellious people?

2. We can not just assume God. We must appreciate God. God is by no means needing to do anything on our behalf. He does not need to act in any way. The understanding that God would look at a corrupted, wicked, detestable creation like us and still love and give… should never grow old and fail to stagger our hearts.

3. It should be shocking when we see that in Numbers. The people are openly declaring their rebellion to God. God still gave them a means of salvation. If they looked at the bronze serpent on the pole, they would be healed.

C. God made a promise hundreds of years before His Son's arrival. He would give. Isaiah in a fabulous prophecy wrote, “ For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6). Here is the picture that God, looking down time, is ready to give His only son.

1. That's what we have observed in our study of John. He is one of a kind. He is the unique one. That is the idea of being the only begotten—to be the one and only. He is unique in every way because He is God. He is divine. He has come and died for our sins.

2. That brings us in the middle of verse 16.

III. Everyone Who Believes In Him - It's important not to take this part out of its context of what Jesus is doing with Nicodemus. Nicodemus has expressed belief. He's expressed acknowledgment of who Jesus is. You are come from God. Yet we see that Jesus then turns, tells him, no, you're not getting it. You don't have the belief that I am looking for.

A. As John chapter 2 ended, we see people are believing, but Jesus is not entrusting or believing them because He knows their heart. This isn't the belief that He is looking for. He is not looking for some kind of confession. He's not looking for the recognition that Jesus came from heaven. Even the demons believe, that's basic belief. That does not fit the context of what John has been talking about.

1. What Jesus is teaching Nicodemus is about new birth. I know it's been a while, but remember new birth is about life transformation. That's what He is describing. There is a life transformation that occurs. It's like having a new birth. It's a whole new you. It's not minor modifications.

2. People readily accept reformation, the modification of the whole to remove an error. But restoration, the replacement of the whole? Not so much. (Matthew 18:3)

3. People who have true belief are those who experience this kind of radical, life transformation that's being pictured here. To be joined to Christ means that there is going to be a change.

4. I suggest what John does and what Jesus is driving at, and this is critically important for us to grasp, is that true belief means there is life change… otherwise it's not belief. It's unbelief.

B. This verse has been used to suggest a person can have whatever kind of belief they want to have and it's going to be alright.

1. These words are really quite sharp. They should be very pointed to our hearts. Unless there is a massive life transformation in belonging to Jesus, it's not belief. It is simply unbelief. I think that’s what took Nicodemus back by what Jesus said.

2. Nicodemus is told you're not seeing the kingdom of God. Nicodemus is like you have to be kidding me. Look at me. I'm a religious guy. I'm doing all these things. Here is Jesus saying, you don't understand. It is about a massive change. We will have a transformation to follow Christ.

3. In essence then, Jesus is telling Nicodemus that there is no middle ground. There is no middle ground for us as we stand before God. We either have this life changing belief or it is unbelief altogether. True belief will always lead to this life transformation.

4. It is a critical condition that God then gives to us. I think that's what's important for us to see when we recognize what God has done. How can it not lead to life transformation when we get a handle on God’s love and what God gave?

C. If we truly believe it, if we truly believe that God has given so much to wicked rebellious people like us, if we really hold on to that truth, we have to change our lives.

1. Otherwise, we don't believe it at all. We're simply saying I want to do what I want to do, and I don't care that you gave so much. I don't care that you love us so much. I don't care that you have provided a means of salvation.

2. That's what we are saying. Without life transformation it is a declaration of unbelief. We are saying to God it simply does not matter.

IV. Perish Eternally - What is so fascinating about that, is what it teaches us. Not everybody is going to be saved. That's the implication of what He says in verse 16, “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” There is a connection which needs to be made to Jesus—a true belief that must occur. We must connect to him… otherwise we're going to perish.

A. Notice how He describes that in verse 16. Whoever believes in Him should not perish. This is the condemnation that we are under. Again tie this to the wilderness episode as we see Jesus does. Everybody in that wilderness is going to die. They're being bitten by poisonous serpents. They're done. There is no hope. They will all perish. Except - God then gives the offer of salvation. If you look at the serpent on the pole, you'll be saved.

B. We usually come at this the wrong way I suspect. We think; I'm a good moral person so I’m going to be ok. I don’t do bad things. Those people over there, they are the really bad ones. They are the ones that are not going to be saved, but me, I’m not that bad.

1. We are coming at this from a completely wrong angle. We have to understand we have all been bitten by the serpent. Sin is coursing through our veins. The venom of death is over all of us. There is no “it’s going to be ok”, there is no “we are good people”. There is no “I’m not that bad”. — We are dead, it’s over. We are all going to perish.

2. Except - God so loves the world that He gave His Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish. We can not start from the basis I don’t need God, I’m ok. He is trying to get us to understand that we are in big, big, trouble just like those in the wilderness, who were going to die unless God intervened and we are going to die in our sins unless God intervenes. Thank God that He did intervene.

C. In Ezekiel’s prophecy God relates through the prophet the relationship between sin and punishment, like in Ezekiel 18:24, “24. "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.”

1. We have done abominations. Can we live? We most certainly cannot. Sin has been committed. We shall surely die, and our blood be on us for it. We have nobody to point to but ourselves. The sin and the stain of guilt is resting right on our shoulders.

2. Is that what God wants though? In Ezekiel 18:23, “23. "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?'' says the Lord God, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” Here's God saying I don't want that. That's not what I want to have happen. Do I take pleasure in this condition? No. Do I want people to perish? No. God has done everything to make salvation possible. That's why we see the depths of God's love here. This is how we see what God has done for us. This is what is so magnificent about what has occurred.

3. We are perishing in our sins because of what we have done. We are destined to die because of our sins. We are under His wrath because of our actions. We have violated the holy laws of God. We have separated ourselves from him.

D. God sent His son so that anybody who will believe in Him doesn't have to perish but can have eternal life. Does God want people to perish? If He did, He wouldn't have sent His son.

1. All God had to do was sit back and say, My law is holy, right and good. Do these things and you will live. He would have been right, just and good in every sense of it, to stand back and say there is nothing faulty with His law. Just do it and live.

2. God loves His creation. He knows that every single one of us will fall short. He has created a way for us to be saved. God had to intervene. God steps in. Those who will experience the new birth will have eternal life, will be saved from their sins. I want to leave you then with just one thought.

 

CONCLUSION: How can Jesus not be everything to us? How can He not be our treasure? Remember the parable of the treasure? That's the heart of what that parable was all about in Matthew 13:44. Jesus said “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”[ESV] Such a simple parable, teaching this very idea.

 

When you understand what God has done through Jesus, you will recognize that He is the treasure. You forsake everything to go get the treasure. You want to be with Him. You want that life transformation. You want to no longer be the sinner who does whatever they want to do. You want to transform into the image of His son. You want to be holy as He is holy. You want to love as He loves, because we see what He has done.

 

Superficial belief does absolutely nothing. That is what Nicodemus is hearing from Jesus. Life transformation is going to occur when we recognize Jesus as the treasure, because of what He has done for us.

 

I submit to you that when we sin, what we are saying is we have a greater treasure than Him. That is what idolatry is. We are placing something higher than God. We are saying this is more important to my heart, more important to my desire. Sin is the turning away from God as our treasure. Saying this is better for me. This is what I want to do.

 

The question is then, what is your treasure? What is keeping you from experiencing the life transforming belief that He is calling you to have? Look at what He has done. There is nothing else for God to do. We are dead in our sins. We are dying in the wilderness because of our own error.

 

God has intervened. God said if you will just believe in my Son, have a relationship with Him, come to Him and be changed, you’ll no longer live for self but make Jesus your treasure, serve Him and obey Him passionately.

 

Understanding what He has done is all about Him being your treasure. May this verse not be something that we easily buzz through, but feel the weight of the summary of what Jesus says. He has intervened. He has saved us from the weight of sin and death.

 

The message is yours. We are about to sing our invitation song. If anyone here has the need to be baptized into Christ, or needs the prayers of faithful people, the invitation is there for you to come forward while we stand and sing.

 

# ???

 

Reference Sermon: Brent Kercheville

 

CSI - Evidence of the Extended Day

CSI EVIDENCE OF THE EXTENDED DAY

Joshua 10:1-16

 

SEEING IS BELIEVING

“A 5th grade student called his teacher and said that he couldn’t come to school because snow had fallen from the roof and broke the awning,

which fell down to the front door, and so they couldn’t get the door open. He said that his parents left for work through a window, but he had to stay

at home because the window couldn’t be locked from the outside.

The teacher gave him zeros in each subject that day for such a dumb excuse for not coming to school.

The next day his parents came to school and presented photos of the 3 meter wide ice lump and a completely broken awning.”

 

For all of us who may at times contemplate the truths of the Bible ... here's something that shows God's awesome creation and shows that He is still in control.

Did you know that the space program is busy proving that what has been called a "myth" in the Bible is actually true?

Mr. Harold Hill, a consultant in the space program, relates the following development.

 

"I think one of the most amazing things that God has for us today happened recently to our astronauts and space scientists at GreenBelt, Maryland.

They were checking the position of the sun, moon, and planets out in space and where they would be 100 years and 1000 years from now.

We have to know this so we won't send up a satellite, and have it bump into something later on in its orbits.

We have to lay out the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite, and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down.

They ran the computer measurement back and forth over the centuries and it came to a halt.

 

The computer stopped and put up a red signal, which meant that there was something wrong either with the information fed into it or with the results as compared to the standards.

They called in the service department to check it out.

They found there is a day missing in space in elapsed time.

They scratched their heads and had no answer.

 

Finally, a Christian man on the team said, "You know, I remember the Bible mentioning about the sun standing still."

 

They didn't believe him, BUT they didn't have an answer either, so they said, "Show us."

He got a Bible and went back to the book of Joshua. There they found the Lord saying to Joshua, "Fear them not, I have delivered them into thy hand;

there shall not a man of them stand before thee."

 

Joshua was concerned because he was surrounded by the enemy and if darkness fell they would overpower him.

So Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still!

That's right — "The sun stood still and the moon stayed — and hasted not to go down about a whole day!"  

(Joshua 10:12-13)

 

The astronauts and scientists said, "There is the missing day!" They checked the computers going back into the time that it was written and found it was close but not close enough.

The elapsed time that was missing back in Joshua's day was 23 hours and 20 minutes — not a whole day.

 

They reread the Bible and there it was "about (approximately) a day"

These little words in the Bible are important, but they were still in trouble because if you cannot account for 40 minutes you'll still be in trouble 1,000 years from now.

Forty minutes had to be found because it can be multiplied many times over in orbits.

 

As the Christian employee thought about it, he remembered a different time in the Bible where it said the sun went BACKWARDS.

The scientists told him he was out of his mind, but they once again got out the Book and read these words in 2 Kings that told of the following story:

Hezekiah, on his deathbed, was visited by the prophet Isaiah who told him that he was not going to die.

Hezekiah asked for a sign as proof.

Isaiah said "Do you want the sun to go ahead 10 degrees?"

 

Hezekiah said "It is nothing for the sun to go ahead 10 degrees, but let the shadow return backward 10 degrees."

Isaiah spoke to the Lord and the Lord brought the shadow ten degrees BACKWARD!

Ten degrees is exactly 40 minutes!

Twenty-three hours and 20 minutes in Joshua, plus 40 minutes in Second Kings make the missing day in the universe!" Isn't it amazing?

 

So, you have probably figured out that our text for this morning’s lesson is found in the 10^th Chapter of Joshua:

“There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel.” Joshua 10:14

Joshua called out to God… and made an brave request.

Joshua 10:12 says “At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day

when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, ‘Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.’”

 

Now why would Joshua make such a loud and public statement? Because he had a promise from God:

The LORD had told Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you." Joshua 10:8

So Joshua had a PROMISE… but he also had a problem.

The battle wasn’t finished yet, the enemy had not yet been conquered, and he was running out of daylight.

 

So Joshua called on God to do the unthinkable: Make the sun stand till until we’ve whipped the enemy.

 

ILLUS: In December of 1944,

Adolf Hitler had launched a surprise attack known as the Battle of the Bulge… and 1000s of Nazi troops and tanks advanced through Allied lines,

creating havoc and confusion. To make matters worse snow had been falling for days and a heavy fog blanketed the area, effectively shielding the Nazis

from Allied air attack. General George Patton had wheeled his entire army to strike the southern shoulder of the enemy - but he realized that without air support, the Allies would be in trouble.

 

So, on December 22, on General George S. Patton’s order, Chaplain James H. O’Neill wrote a short prayer for fair weather that was printed on cards and distributed to the soldiers of the Third Army.

 

The next day, December 23, soldiers awoke to bright clear day and looked up to see the air filled with Allied planes attacking the Nazi forces below...

and the war ended 19 weeks later.

 

A good general knows when to call on God for help. But now here’s the deal. If God DIDN’T make the sun stand still (as the Bible says) this story in Joshua 10 is just a story. If the sun didn’t stand still the Bible lied and verse 14 has no meaning for us.

 

As you might imagine, skeptics & atheists mercilessly mock this supposed miracle because it defies every known law of nature.

Here’s the problem:

The surface of the earth - at the equator – revolves at a speed of roughly 1,000 mph. And the Earth orbits the Sun at an average speed of 67,000 mph.

 

For the sun to stand still in the sky the earth would have to stop revolving,

or at least slow down dramatically.

Gravity would be suspended, and (in theory) the world would collapse.

 

Just to get a small idea of how that would work, imagine going down the road at 80 mph with your car loaded with all kind of boxes and loose materials. And suddenly you have to stop to avoid a deer in the road.

If you can visualize the chaos… of items flying all over the place inside your car as it stops at that speed – well, you can have a vague idea of what would happen if the earth stopped and stood still in the heavens.

 

There are those who say that science doesn’t allow for things like that to happen.

Things like the sun standing still in the sky!

It would have been a bizarre miracle that defied all known laws of physics.

 

There is one small detail that these skeptics OVERLOOK!

You see, we believe that our God Who created the world in 6 days, Who designed everything that exists, and Who holds everything in the palm of His hand, can do anything He wants anytime He wants to without asking our permission.

 

Hebrews 1:3 tells us Jesus

“upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

The problem for skeptics is that they can’t imagine a God who could defy the laws of physics.

But, in fact, every miracle in Scripture defies the Laws of Physics:

The Creation; Noah’s Flood; the parting of the Red Sea; the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in a fiery furnace, the feeding of the 5000, raising people from the dead; and (ultimately) the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

 

THEY ALL DEFY the Laws of Physics.

That’s why they’re called miracles.

You see, the laws of physics aren’t really Laws.

It’s not like some legislative body had gathered and passed laws that governed the universe that we need to obey or we get fined or pay a ticket.

The laws of physics are essentially observations of what normally happens in nature.

You can count on these things happening time after time.

 

 

 

Now, when it comes to BIBLICAL miracles, the laws of physics were violated over and over again because something “changed.”

And what had changed was this:

God showed up. God created the laws of physics, and so He CHANGED them as He desired.

That said, is there any PROOF of the Biblical statement that the Sun actually stood still?

 

• The Greek historian Herodotus (more than 400 years before Christ) wrote that when he visited Egypt, the priests there showed him an ancient manuscript which told the story of a day which lasted about twice as long as a normal day.

 

• French intellectual, Fernand Crombette translated many of the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and found that among those hieroglyphics is the story of Joshua’s long day.

 

• There was also a Chinese account from an ancient manuscript that recounted a period of time during the reign of Emperor Yau which coincides with the days of Joshua, that mentions a time when the sun stood still.

 

• And, on the other side of the world, the Aztecs and other ancient Indian cultures in Southern, Middle and Northern America ALL TELL OF A TIME

when there was a “Long Night” where the sun refused to rise in the sky.

 

These accounts provide reasonable confirmation that those folks likely observed that miracle in their day.

Jesus said: “If you have the faith of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20

Now, why would God include this story in Scripture?

What can we learn from what happened that day?

Well, it can be summed up in that one scripture:

“There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.” Joshua 10:14

God heeded the voice of a man, AND GOD FOUGHT FOR HIS PEOPLE.

 

We live in a harsh world.

People are gonna hurt us, insult us, persecute us, rob us.

You name it, if an evil person can think of something evil to do they’ do it. Evil exists and we won’t entirely escape it. And Jesus was very honest about this:

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

This story of Sun standing still is important to us

because we need to realize that God stepped up

and did a mighty thing all because Joshua asked Him to.

So, what’s God trying to tell us? He’s telling us

He’s powerful enough to do anything that needs to be done.

 

On a hill called Calvary there stood an old rugged cross – the emblem of suffering and shame.

They crucified My Savior. They had beaten Him, and insulted Him, and mistreated Him, and then they nailed him to a Cross.

And Bible says from the 6th until the 9th hour there was darkness in the land.

From Noon until 3:00 pm…. the Sun REFUSED to Shine.

 

In Joshua’s day – in answer to prayer –

God made the SUN to Stand Still, and that miracle gave His people victory over their enemy.

And on that dreadful Friday when Jesus died on the cross, the Sun was in its place… but it refused to shine.

It was on that day - God gave YOU and I the victory!

What a Mighty God We Serve!”

 

God can do anything, from parting the crossing of the Jordan, to the destruction of Jericho, and even causing the Sun to stand still in the sky.

But the most powerful miracle God ever did was when Jesus rose from the dead to give us hope for an eternal life with Him.

“If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” 

Romans 8:31-32

 

God can do anything… but He’s ALREADY done the most power thing He could possibly do for us.

He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him (that’s you and me) shall have everlasting life.

JOHN 3:16

There is more to come concerning that verse next week.

 

INVITATION

 

 

Reference Sermon : Jeff Strite

A New Birth - part 2

A New Birth – part 2

John 3:7-15

 

INTRO: Good morning church. Open your Bibles to John chapter 3. We're right in the middle of Jesus' discussion with Nicodemus. Recall also that as we ended chapter 2 John pointed out that there is “belief”, on the part of the Jews, but it is insufficient belief. They are believing because they see the signs that Jesus is doing, but it is not leading to life transformation. Therefore, we see Jesus does not believe them or entrust Himself to them. Though they believed in His name, they are still going to crucify Him. Their belief, based upon signs, is not causing them to turn to the Lord.

 

In chapter 3 we are introduced to Nicodemus. He is a Jew and a ruler of the Jews. He is a Pharisee. He is a member of the Sanhedrin, and we saw last time that later in the Gospel we will find out that Nicodemus has become a believer. That erases a lot of our skepticism about Nicodemus and causes us to consider that Nicodemus is sincerely seeking answers from Jesus.

 

Nicodemus comes to Jesus and in verse 2 says, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus turns to him and says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”[NKJV]

 

The last lesson left off in the middle of Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus about who will see the kingdom of God. That indicates to Nicodemus that all his righteous works and all the works of the Law which separated him as a Jew from the Gentiles are not enough to enter the kingdom. Instead, a new birth must occur to see the kingdom. Nicodemus cannot understand how this can be. How can he, as an adult, experience a new birth? How can a person start all over and go back to the beginning? It is impossible.

Jesus agrees with the impossible nature of the flesh accomplishing this new birth. What is born of flesh is flesh, but what is born of Spirit is spiritual. This new birth though has been part of God’s plan as evidenced by the allusion to the prophecy of Ezekiel. In this prophecy God spoke though Ezekiel of the people being made clean by being sprinkled with clean water and receiving a new heart and new spirit. Life is being given to the people through the Spirit.

 

Nicodemus is taken aback by that. Nicodemus as well as the Jewish nation believe that they are part of the kingdom of God because they are Israel. They were “born into the kingdom”. They are children of Abraham. They have kept the various works of the law. They have been circumcised on the eighth day, separated themselves from the Gentiles, kept away from unclean foods and the like.

 

How can it be possible for Jesus to say to Nicodemus, he must be born again, that he must experience a new birth? In verse 4 you see this incredulous response by Nicodemus. How can a man be born when he is old? Are you suggesting that I need to start over and begin again, and that the things that I have done in the flesh toward God have been useless?

We see in verse 5 that being born of water and born of spirit is what is necessary. Jesus reaches back to Ezekiel 36 where we see this new birth described as being born of water and born of spirit and pointing out in verse 6 that being born of flesh will only beget flesh. A spiritual birth is required to belong to the kingdom of God.

 

I. Life Through the Spirit (3:7-8) - We pick up in the middle of this discussion at verse 7. Jesus says, “Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born again.'”[NKJV] You can’t easily see it from this translation, but two different pronouns are used. The first is a phrase “to you”, Do not marvel that I said to you, referring to Nicodemus. The second “you”, You must be born again, is not singular but plural. Jesus is speaking broadly of the whole Jewish nation when He says “You must be born again.”

A. He broadens it to the nation. You are all thinking you're in the kingdom of God. All of you think that you are children of Abraham and that you're fine. Don't be shocked that I just said you need to have a new birth. Don't be shocked that I said that you need to be born of spirit and born of water. You should not be surprised by these things because life is going to come through this new birth, and that's exactly what the scriptures prophesied.

B. That brings us to verse 8, perhaps one of the more complicated verses. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Jesus tells him that he should not reject a doctrine merely because he does not understand it.

1. After all neither can the wind be seen, but its effects are well known, and no one doubts its existence or power. This is to help Nicodemus believe and understand the invisible power of the new birth.

2. We might put it like this; the act of baptism can be seen; but forgiveness, clean conscience, and receiving the Spirit cannot be seen. Like the wind, though invisible, its power is nevertheless profound.

3. Previously we suggested that Jesus is making a connection for Nicodemus to look back to the scriptures, to Ezekiel. Being born of water and being born of Spirit has a very strong allusion to Ezekiel 36. Remember what we read there in Ezekiel 36:26f – “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

C. Let’s turn back to Ezekiel, and this time to chapter 37. Ezekiel 37:1-14 employs the vision of the valley of dry bones. As we learn in the first half of verse 11 this represents the state of Israel. “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel…”

1. One could not imagine in those days that a restoration of Israel was even possible. Their nation had been destroyed; their king had been captured, blinded and carried away to Babylon to die; countless thousands of the people had been slaughtered; most of the people had been carried captive to Babylon; their beloved Jerusalem was destroyed; the Temple had been plundered and burned. No words could describe how dead and hopeless the people felt. 11b “… They indeed say, `Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!'”

2. In verse 3 Ezekiel is asked the question – “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel answered, "O Lord God, You know.” The nation is gone. Jerusalem is destroyed, and the question is asked, can the people be revived? Can the nation exist yet one more time?

3. This vision of dry bones is an appropriate illustration, it is like a whole army had been slain, their bones left to bleach in the sun and are suddenly being raised to full life and strength! Ezekiel rightly answers, Lord, you know.

4. Ezekiel 37:5f – “`Thus says the Lord God to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. "I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.'''” God is going to bring these bones back to life.

D. Remember Nicodemus is a teacher, and I am going to suggest a connection to John’s gospel. In Ezekiel the Hebrew word, rûwach, (roo'-akh), can be translated wind, breath, or spirit. It's the same word all throughout this chapter and we see it in verse 5 as, “Behold, I will cause breath, (rûwach), to enter you, and you shall live”. Then in verse 14, “I will put My Spirit (rûwach) in you, and you shall live,…” It's the exact same word there. Breath, spirit, wind, it all comes together. God is saying, I am going to give you… life.

1. When the breath of God enters these bones, life is going to come. We can understand the imagery. How did Adam come to life in Genesis 2:7? As God breathes into man, what happens? Life comes into the body. It's that idea of breath, spirit, wind -- this is God giving life.

2. Look at Ezekiel 37:9, “9. Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, (rûwach) prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, (rûwach) `Thus says the Lord God: "Come from the four winds, (rûwach) O breath, (rûwach) and breathe (rûwach) on these slain, (why?) that they may live.'''''” Breath is life. Spirit is life. When the spirit comes, then there's life.

3. Going back to John 3:8, I think Jesus is making this connection to Ezekiel 37 for Nicodemus. John 3:8, “The wind, (pneuma) blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit (pneuma).” Guess what? In the Greek, same thing happens. Pneuma means, wind, breath, or spirit.

4. Notice what Jesus has done. Nicodemus said, how can this be? What Jesus does is take Nicodemus mind back to the scriptures to show him, no, this is something that God has said was always going to be needed.

5. You are part of a dead, broken nation that has no life. However, in Ezekiel 36, God spoke of a cleansing by water, sprinkling water on the people. There is hope, they will receive a new spirit, a new heart. They will desire the Lord and follow Him. The nation will live again.

6. Nicodemus, how can you ask; how is this possible? Think about what Ezekiel said. The nation is dead and it needs redemption. A new birth is necessary, and life will enter again. This is God’s doing—that is how.

E. Jesus using these images, is going to chide Nicodemus. You're a teacher in Israel. You should know what the scriptures say about these things. That's why Jesus is using these Old Testament images to get him to see this is exactly what the prophets said was going to happen.

1. New birth has always been promised. Restoration has always been looked forward to. You will recall in the book of Amos, after blasting the nation for eight and a half chapters, he speaks of a restoration. Isaiah also speaks of restoration.

2. Jesus is indicating this is exactly what God said was going to happen. Why are you so unnerved that I say you need a new birth to see the kingdom of God? Ezekiel said this very thing.

F. In John 3:8, please carefully read the end of that sentence. “… So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Read it carefully.

1. It does not say, “so it is with the Spirit”. That's not what is being said here. It says, “so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” He's not talking about the nature of the Holy Spirit. He's talking about those who've been born of the Spirit. This is describing them.

2. Jesus is pointing out the new birth comes by the power of God. This is what Nicodemus doesn’t understand. I've done everything I'm supposed to do. New birth is from God. Not by you being circumcised, staying away from Gentiles, eating only clean foods, and the like.

3. The point is that God's power is bringing people into the Kingdom of God. These dead bones can live. but these dead bones can't come to life by our power. That's what Jesus said back in verse 6. What's born of flesh is flesh. We're dead in our sins. We're not going to be able to bring ourselves back to life. We need God to do something to make life possible.

4. In Ezekiel God said, I'm not doing it for you, but for my glory. That's why this nation is brought back to life, it is to glorify God. That's the message that Jesus is now giving Nicodemus. This isn't by your words, nor by your actions. This isn't about what you can accomplish. Remember John 1:12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” It's not by your visible works, but by the invisible work of God.

5. It is a description of the transforming power of God in the lives and the hearts of people, and you see the outcome by their works. You see it in the transformed life. This is what the new birth is all about. What did Ezekiel 36 say? I'm going to give them a new heart and a new spirit. What are they going to do? They will keep My commands. They will obey. This is what can be observed in those who are born of God.

II. The Means of the New Birth (3:9-15) - That brings us to verse 9 and I think Nicodemus is starting to grasp the impact. “Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?''” I submit to you the rest of this section is Jesus' answer to this question; how can these things be?

A. John 3:10, “Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” Jesus’ response is indicating; I'm not telling you something new or something different. This is what the scriptures said was going to happen.

B. Verse 11, “Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.”[NKJV] Notice we're still in the plural. You, all of you, (including Nicodemus), have not been listening. In fact, you haven't been listening to anything we've said. Notice Jesus uses “we” and “our”. We are teaching you what the scriptures have always said. We are teaching you what is truth. We're teaching you what we know, but what's the problem? You (plural), you do not receive our testimony… and guess what? That's been a historical problem.

1. The nation does not listen to the servants of God, and I believe Jesus is pointing that out right here and saying you're doing it again. You said that I've been sent from God. (Remember verse 2—“Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God”) Then why aren't you listening, Nicodemus? If you say, “we know you're from God”, then why don’t you believe our testimony? Why aren't you doing what we teach? Jesus is saying something that Stephen would later use in the book of Acts.

2. That leads to verse 12. “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” Jesus says you people don't understand these earthly things. What does He mean by that? Here's Jesus talking to Nicodemus and saying, I just spoke of being born again and you took it as being born of the flesh. You did not understand it. You said, “Do I go back in the womb?” He speaks of the whole nation. You people don't understand the earthly things.

3. Consider how that connects to John 2:23-25. What did we see there? They're seeing the signs and the miracles, right? There's no life transformation. There's no life change. They're “believing”, but it is incomplete belief. They aren't doing what is needed to come to eternal life.

4. This is essentially what Jesus is saying in verse 12. I'm doing these signs, yet you all are still not coming to true faith, true belief, life transformation. If you don't have that happen, how are you going to understand the spiritual truths when I teach them?

5. If you can't understand based upon what I'm doing, by My works, understand that you need to get on board and change your life to follow me, then why should I suppose if I sit down and explain to you great spiritual truths that you'll understand any better? You won't. The point is their unbelief is perpetuating their spiritual ignorance.

6. How often do we see this in the parable accounts? We saw it in chapter 2, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” You don't understand the spiritual things I'm saying to you. You aren't grasping the truths that I'm giving to you. If you don't change your life based upon the signs, you're certainly not going to believe in the teachings. If you do not believe, you're not going to be able to change.

7. That's true today. Tons of people say they believe. Where are the changed lives? I think Jesus would say the same today. He has given us the witnesses, His word, and yet people don’t study, they do not try to understand, they’re bored with it, they are tired of hearing it. They claim belief and yet do not receive the spiritual teachings. It doesn't make any sense.

C. That's what He's telling Nicodemus. I've done these signs. I've done these works you can see and yet you still don't truly believe. There's still no life change. That is why you are not in the kingdom of God.

D. At verse 13, “13. "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15. "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”. I suggest there is something notable going on in this simple statement. Jesus connects this directly to Moses in verse 14 and we need to ask ourselves how does this connect with the conversation being held?

1. If verse 13 is saying, the only one who can understand these heavenly things is Me, the son of man, because I'm the only one who's ascended and is also descended, then why is He being so critical of Nicodemus and the Jewish nation for not knowing the spiritual things?

2. He just told Nicodemus you should have already known these things. Aren't you a teacher of Israel and you do not know? You can't even understand the earthly things. Even further, if Jesus were to say, no one has ascended into heaven except Himself, that hasn't happened at this point.

E. I want us to consider there's something more going on here. The reason I suggest that is as we've seen throughout our study so far, nearly everything that John says has an Old Testament analogy, doesn't it? Every time He says something, we go back to the Old Testament, and we find the image there. We get to do it again here with this imagery as well. Where we need to go is Deuteronomy and in particular chapters 27 through 30. We are not going to be able to spend the time reading four chapters, however I suggest you take the time at some point to read it.

1. Here is a summary of what is going on. You will read of blessings and curses. This is the final speech by Moses, giving the law again and a description of blessings if you keep my commands and of curses if you do not. The curses for rebellion by Israel are very graphic, all laid out in the text. What Moses does in the middle of this is tell them… you're going to fail.

2. Deuteronomy 30:1, “Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you,” Folks, it is going to happen and when it does, “ you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,”

3. Let’s turn to Deuteronomy 30:6, “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” You see how Moses sounds like he's in John 3 right now? There's going to be this change of heart, circumcision of heart, a new heart.

4. In verse 11 Moses says, “For this commandment which I command you today, it is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.” Then he immediately tells how that’s going to happen. “12. It is not in heaven, that you should say, `Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 13. "Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, `Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 14. "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.”

5. In the New Testament, Paul quotes Moses in Romans 10:5-8, “5. For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);”

6. You were given that commandment, and you will fail, every single one of you. You'll be accountable for your sins. There's going to be a time, when my people will love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul. It won't be impossible this time. You will not say who is going to ascend into heaven to make this possible. The word will be near you and these things will happen.

7. I submit to you that is what Jesus is doing in the imagery of John 3:13 when He says no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the son of man.

F. Nicodemus knows Jesus is from God and admitted it. Yet he wonders; How can the new birth occur? How can this new life occur? How can radical transformation occur? We are unable to keep the law. Cursed is anyone who doesn't keep what is written in the book of the law. What are we going to do?

1. The Son of Man has descended to bring healing. No one will have to say “who is going to ascend into heaven to make it possible?” We can't do it ourselves. Jesus is saying no one must ascend into heaven. Why? Because the Son of Man has descended. That's why.

2. Next John 3:14-15, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

G. There are two parallels here and the first is found in Numbers 21. The people were complaining, you brought us out here to die Moses! There is no belief in God in the slightest. God sends fiery serpents into the camp. The people are bitten and they begin to die. They turn to Moses and say, Entreat the Lord for us. Lest we all perish. God tells Moses “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”

1. In the broad sense the serpent stood as a symbol of life for the dying Israelites. All of them should have perished, but it was by God's provision that He graciously offered new life.

2. All of them should have died. All of them were complaining. However, not based on them but based upon God's grace and goodness, He offers life to the nation again and gives them an opportunity to be saved—to have a solution. The same is true for what Jesus is describing.

3. God has graciously provided for us today, through His word, which is near us. There can be spiritual life, new birth, eternal life, for rebellious sinners. None of us should be able to be healed from our sins. None of us should be able to have life. It is completely undeserved. What is deserved is punishment for our sin.

H. God intervened with life by sending the Son. Which brings up the second parallel. Just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent and all who looked upon it found life, Jesus says in verse 14 the Son of Man must be lifted up. Jesus says I'm going to the cross so that everybody who believes in me, with true belief, is going to find life.

1. We are dying with the poison of sin coursing through our veins. We need life. Jesus comes, and intervenes. He descends. We cannot help ourselves.

2. There is no way we can achieve new life on our own. We cannot ascend into heaven and find help. God descends from heaven and offers help. Jesus becomes the new birth. When we come to him that is how we find life. That is where we find healing. That's where the radical transformation begins.

 

CONCLUSION: I know this was a bit detailed and I ask you to please consider taking some time to study it on your own.

When we look at what Moses said, we see that God promised life is going to come to the people. There's going to be a day when it wouldn't be physical Israel, but it will be His spiritual people. Life will enter dead bones. A new heart, a new spirit will be given to them and they will live. When we are reading about the Spirit we are not reading about something mystical, fantastic coming into our heart, whispering in our ear. It is just simply a message of life that comes to you.

 

New birth equals life. The Spirit comes, that is life. When we experience new birth life is given to us. It equals being in the Kingdom of God. We don't see the Spirit but we see the result. People born of God reveal life transformation, people desiring to obey God, and striving to keep His commands.

 

The message is yours. The invitation is there for any who have a need to be baptized into Christ, or those who need prayers of faithful people, to come forward while we stand and sing.

 

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Reference Sermon: Brent Kercheville

A New Birth - part 1

A New Birth – part 1

John 2:23-3:7

 

INTRO: Good morning church. We are going to continue in our look at John’s Gospel today. We want to put some effort in learning from John for within this gospel is much information we can use when we teach others of the Lord. Remember John was an eyewitness to these events, and he writes as such. Our text is John 2:23 through John 3:7. This will be a two-part lesson with the focus on the conversation Jesus has with Nicodemus.

Let’s start reading at John 2:23, “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”[ESV] A very curious kind of statement, especially as it sits between the cleansing of the temple and the discussion with Nicodemus. We will see though this is a connector to Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus as we continue.

 

In verses 23 and 24 the same Greek word is translated as believed when it says “many believed in his name”, and as entrust (or commit) when it says “Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them.” Another translation put it “…many trusted in His name when they saw the signs He was doing. Jesus, however, would not entrust Himself to them…”[HCSB] You might say Jesus is not believing them even though they're believing in Him.

 

Why does Jesus have this skepticism about people? The answer is that Jesus knows the heart of every person. He knows what is within them and He is able to determine their level of belief. They may have been enthusiastic over what He did, but Jesus saw beyond that, and He recognized they were not committed to Him in terms of faith. The language indicates to me that Jesus knew the reality of their trust, how deep it was, or more to the point, how shallow.

 

John is pointing out something important to describe what true belief is. True belief is not just merely an acknowledgement of “who” Jesus is because of the signs that He performs as we note… “many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.”[ESV] People see the miracles, they see the power that Jesus is wielding, and yet that is not enough to cause the people to have a change of heart that true belief calls for.

 

It is not simply recognition that; here is somebody special because he can do miracles. It should be “He's clearly from God, and therefore I should listen to Him, follow Him, and obey Him”. I think that is why John ties this to the Passover. It is going to be these very people who are believing in Jesus, who are going to turn around and crucify the Passover lamb.

 

Some of these very people in a short while are going to turn Him over for trial, and when given the opportunity to release him, they're not going to call for His release.

John is observing that within their hearts, though they seem to be believing, they have not come to faith in Jesus. Their belief is shallow. Their hearts and their lives have not changed. They are just acknowledging the miracles that Jesus performed.

 

Jesus teaches this in the parable of the Sower. In that parable He speaks of the Word of God being sown on different kinds of hearts, and yet in many of those various soils, the Word of God doesn't take root and grow.

 

There is a hearing of the Word of God, and in some cases there's even some action toward God, and yet it does not last. We do not see the kind of change of heart and life that true faith calls for. I suspect John is setting us up with this thought before we read of Jesus and Nicodemus. Let’s see how Jesus is going to handle who Nicodemus is and who he represents.

 

We'll go ahead and read through verse 15 though we will not be able to discuss all of that today. John 3:1-15 – “1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.””

 

“3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.””

 

“7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.””

 

“9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.”

 

“12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”[ESV]. There is a lot going on here. Let’s examine what is being said, a section at a time, and see what we can learn from it.

 

I. The Necessity of the New Birth (3:1-4). We are introduced to Nicodemus in verse 1 and we learn a few things about him. First, he is a Pharisee. We have studied enough to know this is usually not a good thing. Second, he is described as a ruler of the Jews, and later in John's Gospel, we will become aware that he is part of the Sanhedrin, the religious ruling body of that day. Nicodemus is someone of importance and he wields a lot of power.

A. We also see from verse 2 that it is his desire to speak to Jesus. Even though Nicodemus is a Pharisee, and a ruler of the Jews, we should withhold some skepticism, because when we get to the end of the Gospel, we find Nicodemus’ involvement. We are going to read that after the crucifixion Nicodemus brings the burial spices. Then he and Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus, bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews and placed it in the tomb.

1. We do not know if Nicodemus becomes a follower of Jesus at the end of this discussion, or if it is sometime later. But John makes it very clear in chapter 19, that this very man who has this conversation is going to have great concern for the body of Jesus and helps prepare His body for burial.

2. What Nicodemus says here in verse 2 is fascinating and fits very well with John 2:23-24. “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Here is a statement of belief—we know that you are from God. The words "we know" indicate the profound effect which the mighty signs of Jesus had produced in the very center of Judaism. These words admit others knew of the heavenly origin of Jesus. Though only one of the great signs John selected for this Gospel had been recorded at this point; Nicodemus' words, along with John 2:23, show that many signs had been wrought.

3. For no one can do these signs … How amazing that with such evidence before them, so few, were touched in their hearts sufficiently to eventually lead them to Jesus.

4. Why do these people believe? Because of the signs that are being done. However, there seems to be something lacking with Nicodemus. Remember Jesus knows what is in man. Notice what Jesus says to Nicodemus in verse 3. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

B. Imagine you are Nicodemus for a minute and consider what a shock this statement would be. You are a Pharisee. You are a careful follower of the Law of Moses. You are a dedicated person, a ruler of the Jews and a member of the Sanhedrin. Yet Jesus, who you know is from God just told you, you cannot see the kingdom of God. This is not the sort of statement Nicodemus would be expecting to hear!

1. What Jesus is beginning to reveal here and what John wants us to observe, is yes, you have some belief. We know you're from God. But that belief is incomplete. Jesus is telling him there is more needed. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you're born again, only then are you going to see the kingdom of God.

2. I think it is important for us to consider Nicodemus. A devote Jew at that time, with all of his obedience to the law, all that made him a Jew, circumcised on the eighth day, separation from the Gentiles, eating of clean and refusing unclean foods, all the various marks that set him apart as being a child of Abraham, being able to trace his lineage back and saying, this is who I am. As they would say, “we are the recipients of the promise.”

3. Then for Jesus to turn and indicate, no, you're not seeing the kingdom of God—had to rattle Nicodemus. I suspect that leads Nicodemus to ask in verse 9, “how can these things be?” We notice though that unlike the rich, young ruler who turned away when he was told he lacked, Nicodemus asks. He wants to know; What are you talking about? How can this possibly be the case? Surely I’m doing things right. What Jesus then describes is that there is a necessity for a new birth.

C. Let's talk about the answer that Jesus gives here in verse 3 when He says, unless one is born again. There's an interesting word here which some translations render as born from above. This adverb actually means both. Strong defines the word (ἄνωθεν ánōthen, an'-o-then) as; “from above; by analogy, from the first; by implication, anew: -from above, again, from the beginning (very first), the top.

1. This word is used later in John's gospel, in John 3:31 and John 19:11. We have this double meaning, and John continues to use it through this gospel, born again, born from above.

2. We also notice that Nicodemus understands this as being born again because in verse 4 he says, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”

D. The idea is a recognition that something new must occur. That image of something new is used throughout the New Testament by almost all the writers. For example, Peter uses this image in 1^st Peter 1:22-23. He says, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;” In this image though, Peter uses a different Greek word that means; begat again, born anew, born again. This word does not mean born from above. It's a different word.

1. This verb solidifies the idea of born again as something new. Ok, so listen to what the Apostle Paul says in 2^nd Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” He said you're a new creation. In Galatians 6:15 he told them, “For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” What matters is being a new creature or a new creation. What is being described in this imagery of a physical birth, is your need for a spiritual birth. There is a new birth that is going to occur.

2. We don't hear the phrase “born again” quite as much as we used to. I suspect there has been a lot of misunderstanding of what was being described by that phrase. What we're talking about, a new life, new creation, new person, is that complete transformation that's found in Christ. So, we're not talking about physical birth, but about a spiritual birth. You are being born spiritually and if you are born it follows there is growing to do.

E. Nicodemus response to this is interesting yet not unexpected in the literal sense. Verse 4, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” I can think of three potential ways to look at what Nicodemus is saying here.

1. One possibility is that what Nicodemus is doing is being sarcastic and dismissive. How can a person be born when he is old? What do you want me to do? Go back into my mother's womb? I think we can reject that explanation. I have a hard time thinking of Nicodemus completely throwing out Jesus' words and saying that's ridiculous, because of what Nicodemus does later.

2. Another possibility is he's being a bit dull. He does not grasp what the spiritual discussion is about and has no idea that Jesus is talking on a spiritual level. When Jesus says be born again, what Nicodemus hears is climb back into my mother's womb and be born again.

a) Possible, I suppose, but this is a teacher, a ruler of the Jews, a religious leader. This is supposed to be a spiritually minded man. He is part of the Sanhedrin. He would have known the scriptures but of course knowing and understanding are not always the same thing. We see that all throughout the Gospels.

b) The way the discussion unfolds though, I submit to you that what Nicodemus does is continue the metaphor in his response. That's what he says back to Jesus, you're talking about some kind of birth, but how is that going to be possible?

3. I think Nicodemus grasps what Jesus is saying and is recognizing the seeming impossible nature of Jesus’ teaching. In essence, Nicodemus is saying, “Isn’t it too late for such a change?” Jesus is teaching that you need to experience a whole new birth, become a whole new person, a new creation, being born from above to be in the kingdom of God.

F. If this is true, then I need to start life all over again. How am I going to do this after so much life has already passed by? Nicodemus saying if I as a Jew, a child of Abraham, a careful follower of the law of Moses, a keeper of the works of the law, a Pharisee of Pharisees, (if we were to borrow Paul's words), a ruler and teacher of the Jews and a member of the Sanhedrin, am not in the kingdom of God, then how do you suppose that I'm going to participate in this new birth? How am I supposed to be born again?

1. Nicodemus has spent a large part of his life learning and growing in knowledge of the Law of Moses. He has dedicated himself to this path. I suspect to him within the idea of a new birth is the concept that all this is wasted and he must start over from scratch.

2. Nicodemus is having difficulty with what Jesus is saying, and I suggest to you that Nicodemus is not being obtuse or sarcastic with what he says in verse 4. He's not intentionally trying to be rude to Jesus but struggling to grasp the meaning. How can this be? What are you saying, that I must start completely over? Is that really going to be possible at this point in my life?

3. As we talk to people today, we find those who have difficulty grasping the call of the gospel. Consider how often that occurs when Jesus teaches people. For example, when Jesus says how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, remember the disciple’s reaction? It was, “Who then can be saved?” Here Jesus uses the idea of new birth to tell Nicodemus something is still lacking. Notice how Jesus expands upon that in an answer to try to help him understand.

II. The Explanation of the New Birth (3:5-8). Verse 5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Here Jesus expands on the explanation to Nicodemus.

A. At verse 6 Jesus is agreeing with the impossibility Nicodemus states because Jesus says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

1. The first thing we notice is that being born of flesh always carries the idea of human weakness, it reminds us of our shortcomings in the flesh, and to speak of the flesh is always a reminder that we don't live up to God's standard.

2. Paul in Romans 7:14 – “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.” This new birth cannot be something physical; it must be something spiritual. All who are of the flesh recognize that we are under sin. We have fallen short, and we need something from God to help us. A spiritual birth is needed. That's what Jesus is pointing out.

B. Being born of water and the spirit is an answer to the problem that Nicodemus faces. --- How is this going to work if, with all his achievements. all his obedience and all his accolades, he is not in the kingdom of God? How is it going to be possible to be part of the kingdom? What does it mean to be “born of water and the Spirit?” How is this an answer to Nicodemus’ confusion about how it is possible to experience a new birth?

C. Let’s look at Nicodemus knowledge of the scriptures. This language of water and Spirit are found in the Old Testament as those prophets looked toward the restoration of God’s people. Please turn in your Bibles to Ezekiel 36:22-29.

1. There are a few places where the Old Testament speaks of a water birth or water regeneration, water cleansing along with a spirit cleansing, but not many, and Ezekiel 36 is perhaps the largest explanation of these two concepts being joined together.

2. Ezekiel is prophesying about what his people will become one day. God is explaining what is going to occur in verse 22f. “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.” Stop there for a moment and appreciate what God says.

D. God says, what is about to occur is not because of you, it's not because you’re good, it's not because of anything useful to you, but because My name must be glorified. I must be considered holy among the nations, and you have ruined My reputation because of your sins.

1. Therefore, God says, I'm about to do something not for your sake, but for My glory, I'm going to vindicate My name. He lays this out - this isn't about us, this is about God. God's glory, that's always what it is about.

2. In the last analysis, salvation was undeserved by ancient Israel, as it is also undeserved in the New Israel. There is no such thing as salvation from God being merited, deserved, or earned by the ones saved. The reason for ancient Israel's return from captivity was not their merit, but the glory of God and His eternal purpose.

E. Now verse 24 – “24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” Here we see what God is going to do. In verse 25 there is a cleansing with clean water that is going to wash away all the filthiness, the defilements.

1. In verse 26 a whole transformation is going to occur within these people. They will be given a new heart and a new spirit. The heart of stone will be taken from them. God will put His Spirit in them which will lead them to carefully obey God’s laws (27). Notice the connection between water and Spirit. The imagery of spiritual birth and revival is filled through this paragraph.

2. The people saw themselves as being born into the covenant, children of Israel, the children of Abraham—we’re good… and they rebelled against God's law. People today say—“we’re good” and all the while they are in rebellion. God says no, those that are My people, My children, that will enter My house, are not going to be like that.

3. This picture of total transformation is the imagery of what this new birth is about and I believe Jesus is giving this to Nicodemus to help him understand. Nicodemus had the background of knowledge to understand that God spoke of what was going to happen. The days were coming when His people would experience a complete and radical transformation, becoming a new person through a new birth so that they would follow the Lord and be in a renewed relationship.

 

CONCLUSION: Entrance into the kingdom of God will not be just because of who you are or because of your achievements under the works of the law. There is to be a change of heart, a change of life, a radical transformation that will occur. Those who enter the Kingdom will be the ones who will obey.

 

The apostle writers all used these different descriptions of what the people of God would be like; new life, new heart, new spirit, new birth, new creation—people that would wholly follow the Lord. God would then take away that uncleanness. The idea is what would be within His people is not a spirit of wickedness or a spirit of rebellion or a spirit of worldliness… but a spirit of godliness.

 

We know many see the phrase “born of water” and say “oh, that just means be baptized” then think no more about it. Nicodemus cannot understand how he is not entering the kingdom of God. Nicodemus is a ruler of the Jews and a Pharisee, yet these things do not mean that Nicodemus is in the kingdom. It does not make any sense for Jesus to be telling Nicodemus that what he is lacking is baptism. “If you would just be baptized, then you would be in the kingdom.” That does not fit what Jesus is teaching, nor does this fit with what Ezekiel prophesied. What Jesus is talking about is bigger than baptism.

 

Revelation 7:14. Those who had “washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb” did not mean merely baptism, but stood for people who had given their lives wholly to Jesus and had died faithfully for him. The image included baptism but was not speaking exclusively of the baptism act. In the same way, baptism is included in the new birth, but Jesus is not saying just get baptized. Rather, the picture is bigger than baptism. The new birth is the change of heart from stone to flesh, the removal of uncleanness, and the faithful desire to obey all His laws. This is what Ezekiel is picturing, and this is what Jesus is saying is necessary to enter the kingdom of God. Therefore, a different birth is needed. A spiritual birth is needed, because what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

 

The message is yours. The invitation is there for any who have a need to be baptized into Christ, or those who need prayers of faithful people, to come forward while we stand and sing.

 

# ???

 

Reference Sermon: Brent Kercheville

 

And The Walls Came Tumbling Down

And The Walls Came Tumbling Down

Text: Joshua 6:6-20

 

Tom is 71years old and loves to fish. 
Tom was sitting in his boat the other day when he heard a voice say, 
‘Pick me up.’
He looked around and couldn’t see anyone. 
He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again,
‘Pick me up.’ 
He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog.
Tom said, ‘Are you talking to me?’
The frog said, ‘Yes, I’m talking to you.
Pick me up… kiss me and I’ll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen.
I’ll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because I will be your bride!’
Tom looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front pocket.
The frog said, ‘What, are you crazy?

Didn’t you hear what I said?

Kiss me and I will be your beautiful bride.’
Tom opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said,  
‘Nah, at my age I’d rather have a talking frog.’
With age comes wisdom. 

 

“Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho,

Joshua fought the battle of Jericho

and the walls came tumbling down.

 

You can talk about the men of Gideon,

you can talk about old King Saul.

But there's none like good old Joshua

at the battle of Jericho.”

 

Jericho is commonly believed to be one of the oldest cities that had ever been built and it is said to be the oldest known WALLED city ever built.

It was extremely daunting. Heavily fortified. Encircled by 2 rings of walls.

The 1st wall stood between 12 to 15 feet high and the inner wall was 32 to 41 feet in height.

The illusion created by the two walls from ground level, would have seemed to stand nearly 10 stories in height.

Nobody would have thought that anybody could destroy it.

 

But then one day - the walls just came tumbling down.

And the once mighty symbol of paganism was destroyed.

 

Sometimes a building just has to come down, and the bigger buildings require experts who know how to strategically place explosive material in just the right places, and those explosives are detonated in such a way that the structure collapses straight down in a matter of seconds!

 

But when the walls of Jericho fell, Joshua didn’t have a team of engineers. There were no explosive charges. In fact, Joshua didn’t have much to do with what actually brought those walls down.

It was God that destroyed the city – all Joshua and the Israelites had to do was show up.

 

So, here’s a question – Did this really happen?

Was Jericho destroyed the way the Bible says it was?

You know, there are people who scoff at stories in the Bible like this, where something dramatic and miraculous occurs.

 

It doesn’t make any sense to them that the Israelites just marched around Jericho a few times and the walls collapsed.

They just can’t believe that would happen, so they dismiss it as… a myth.

BUT was it?

Was it just a myth … or did it really happen?

 

Back in 1990, Time Magazine had an article that said:

“Jericho’s fall was one of the most dramatic events recorded in the Old Testament.

But for generations scholars have debated whether the Israelites’ assault on Jericho was a fact or a myth….

 

But, Recent discoveries at Jericho have been largely consistent with the Bible story.”

One such article can be found in the March 5^th, 1990 Issue of TIME MAGAZINE.

 

So WHAT did the Bible say that was consistent with the evidence? Well, for one thing, archaeologists found that the walls of Jericho fell straight down in a way that was suggestive of a sudden collapse.

You see, when most cities were conquered – their enemies breached the walls from the outside so that the walls would be caved INWARD.

 

But archaeologists discovered Jericho’s wall FELL DOWN…

not inward. Just as the Bible said.

The Bible ALSO says that the Israelites were told to set the city on fire. Archaeologists found that much of Jericho was covered by a thick layer of soot.

When they used radio-carbon dating on that soot, they found the soot was formed about 1400 B.C.

The date the Bible indicates Israel invaded Canaan.

 

A question: How Long Did It Take Israel to Conquer Jericho?

ANSWER: 7 DAYS.

Now, one way to conquer an ancient walled city was to starve it out. Just surround the city and wait till they ran out of food. But the evidence shows that Jericho had plenty of food. Archaeologists found several jars full of barley throughout the city.

In other words, they weren’t starved into submission.

They had plenty of food to last for weeks.

So, the city fell within days… just like the Bible said.

So, Jericho fell just the way the Bible said it did. It’s a cool story but what did God want to teach us by destroying that city?

Well, first - Jericho was a great city.

It was imposing and it was virtually invincible.

There was no city quite like it anywhere in Canaan.

And yet God told Israel to destroy that city FIRST – BEFORE they did anything else.

 

WHY?

Well, God had Jericho destroyed FIRST because it WAS an imposing and virtually invincible city. It was a little bit of SHOW and TELL.

First, it was a little show and tell for Israel.

If Israel could take Jericho nothing could stand before them. Conquering Jericho was to be a faith builder for them.

 

But, in order to build that faith, Israel had to act on faith. 

Hebrews 11:30 “By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days”.

It was their faith that brought the walls down.

 

Think about it…

God gave Joshua specific instructions for the men of war to march in silence around the city -- once each day for six days. And they were carrying the ark of the covenant as a sign of God’s presence among them.

On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times.

And at the appropriate signal, the priests would blow their trumpets, and the people were to give a mighty shout.”

AND THE WALLS CRUMBLED.

 

In fact, there was ONE OTHER instruction:

 

“You shall not shout or make your voice heard,

neither shall any word go out of your mouth,

until the day I tell you to shout...” Joshua 6:10

 

Now, that was a good instruction, because if I’d been marching around Jericho with the Israelites, I know what I might have been tempted to say:

THIS IS SILLY;

“This doesn’t make any sense”;

“WHY are we doing this?”

 

When Israel FIRST came to the Promised Land, there was a lot of talking going on.

The 1st time they came to the Promised Land, 10 of the 12 spies began to TALK about how they couldn’t take the land.

They TALKED about how big the Canaanites were.

“They brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, ‘The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height… and we seemed liked GRASSHOPPERS’” Numbers 13:32-33

 

“Then, the people began to TALK. They grumbled in their tents saying, “The LORD hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us.”” Deuteronomy 1:27

 

You know what these folks did?

They TALKED themselves out of faith.

They TALKED themselves out of the Promised Land.

They even went so far as to say God hated them.

So, they ended up wandering in the wilderness for 40 yrs.

And so, now, at the walls of Jericho, God said:

“Don’t talk. Just do what I tell you to do.”

 

The only way they’d take the city was by faith, because “without faith, it’s impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11:6

 

You see, when we GRUMBLE – when we TALK about things that annoy us – that’s not a good thing. It shows that we’ve not prayed and not trusted God. It reflects our desire to play God, as if our grumbling could change the course of life.

 

Paul warned the church at Corinth:

“Do not grumble as some of them did and were destroyed…

 I Corinthians 10:10

 

We all tend to grumble when we get upset, get annoyed, get angry because things aren’t going the way we want them to and so we grumble.

I’ve done it!

You’ve done it…

We’ve ALL Done it.

But I’ve decided I’ve got to stop that.

So, whenever I find myself beginning to grumble…

I try to remember that I’m not God.

 

WORDS TO HANG ON THE MIRROR AND LIVE BY:

·         I Will Not Grumble.

·         I will pray ALL that I can;

·         I will do WHAT I can;

·         But I will trust God for ALL that happens

because I have been called to be a Man of Faith.

·         And Men and Women of Faith don’t grumble…

they trust God.

 

When we trust God to lead us in our lives;

in our church;

in our nation.

We’ll begin to see God do mighty things and He will lead us in victory over our fears.

When we determine NOT to Grumble, God will lead us to bring down the walls that challenge our faith. And the walls of Jericho will fall before us.

 

Conquering Jericho was a SHOW AND TELL for Israel

to increase their faith.

But it was also a SHOW AND TELL for the Canaanites to increase their FEAR.

If Israel could destroy Jericho in such a dramatic way, no other tribe stood a chance.

God intended to strike fear into the hearts of His enemies, and from that day on, the other tribes fell like dominos.

And in a few short months, most of Canaan was in Israel’s hands.

 

But why was God so intent on destroying the people in Canaan? What had they done wrong?

In 2 Peter 3:9 we’re told that “The Lord… is patient with us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

 

But apparently, with the people Canaan…

God’s patience had run out.

God told the Israelites: “It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 

Deuteronomy 9:5

 

The Canaanites were a morally corrupt society engaged in practices that were detestable to God, things like child sacrifice, temple prostitution, bestiality, and other forms of sexual immorality.

God basically said “These folks don’t want to repent.

And so God decreed that Jericho was to be destroyed.

And ALL its people were to die. (PAUSE)

Well, not quite ALL of them died.

 

Joshua 6:25 tells us “Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.”

 

Rahab had made a deal with the 2 spies Joshua sent into Jericho. And then she hid Israelite spies. But why would she do that?

Why hide these men?

Well, she hid them… because she had FAITH.

She told the 2 spies:

“I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.

We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts sank and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you.” Joshua 2:9-12

 

She believed what she’d been told about the power of God at the Red Sea, and Hebrews 11:31 tells us “BY FAITH the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.” She was saved from judgment because she had faith in God.

 

BUT WAIT A MINUTE. Rahab was a prostitute.

She wasn’t a nice person.

She’d been as sexually immoral as anyone else in Jericho, and yet… she received mercy. Why?

Why would she be saved from destruction?

Because she had FAITH in God and she was willing to honor Him in her decision to hide the spies. And when that happened…

her past was forgotten.

She ended up marrying a Jewish man named Salmon and became the mother of Boaz…who married Ruth.

And Rahab the harlot became one of only 4 women who were listed in the Gospel of Matthew as one of Jesus’ ancestors.

Rahab impressed God that much by her faith…

that God honored her memory.

 

Now… here’s the point.

Faith that changes us is all that matters to God.

It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done.

All that matters is that you’re willing to have faith in Jesus and be willing to turn your life over to Him.

 

“For God so loved the world

that He gave His only begotten Son

that whosoever BELIEVES (has Faith) in Him

shall not perish

but have everlasting life.”

 

 

 

 

 

Remembering What God Has Done

“Stepping Into the Miracle: Remembering What God Has Done”

TEXT Joshua 3:7–4:11

 

An elderly woman walked into the local country church.

The friendly usher greeted her at the door and

helped her up the flight of steps.

“Where would you like to sit?” he asked politely.

“The front row please.” she answered.

“You really don’t want to do that”, the usher said,

“The pastor is really boring.”

“Do you happen to know who I am?” the woman inquired.

“No.” he said.

“I’m the pastor’s mother,” she replied indignantly.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked.

“No.” she said.

“Good,” he answered as he quickly exited to the back of the building.

 

Back in the 1920’s the US Govt began talking about

controlling the flooding of a river in the West

called the Colorado. They intended to build

the largest dam ever constructed in the US,

and they also wanted this dam to supply electricity

and a stable water supply to the growing population

in the 7 states in that surrounded this river.

 

Thus, in 1928 President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill

authorizing the building of this dam …

and work began in 1931. It took 5 years to build

this huge project, involving 6.6 million tons of concrete

(6.6 million tons of cement would be enough

to pave a 16 foot wide highway from San Francisco to NYC).

They also had to build a city from scratch

just to house the 1000s of workers that were employed

for the 5 years it took to complete the project.

The Dam was such a monumental structure that it

has stood for nearly 90 years and receives upwards

of 7 million visitors every year.

 

I am obviously referring to the Hoover Dam.

Now, remember … it took the US government 5 years,

using 1000s of workers who laid 6.6 million tons of concrete

to stop the flow the Colorado River.

Do you realize, God could have done that in a single day.

In fact, He did do something like that several 1000 years ago … at the Jordan River.

 

Imagine standing at the edge of the Jordan River.

Behind you is the wilderness—years of wandering,

waiting, and wondering. Ahead lies the Promised Land,

the fulfillment of God’s covenant.

But between the two is a river at flood stage. Impassable. Intimidating. And yet, God says, “Step in.”

This is where Israel finds itself in Joshua 3.

And it’s where many of us find ourselves today—

on the brink of something new, something promised,

but something that requires faith to cross.

 

“And the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.’” — Joshua 3:7

 

God tells Joshua that He will exalt him before the people cross. Why? Because leadership in God’s kingdom is not about status—it’s about trust. God is affirming Joshua’s role

so that the people will follow with confidence.

• NOTE: When God calls you to lead—

whether in your family, workplace, or ministry—

He equips you with affirmation and authority.

But you must be willing to step forward

before the waters part.

 

Just like the priests had to step into the Jordan River

before it parted, we’re often called to move forward

before we see results.

 

In our story today… the Israelites had been led by God

to the edge of the Jordan. We’re told that

when the priests carrying the Ark stepped into

the flooded waters of the Jordan River

the waters coming down from (upstream) stood

and rose up in a heap quite a distance away.

The waters literally stopped. It was as if someone

had built an invisible dam that created a wall of water

towering over the Israelites as they crossed on dry ground.

The waters backed up as far back as a town named Adam

which was about 10 miles North of them

(the distance from here to the Painesville courthouse).

And they walked across the riverbed of the Jordan

like walking on dry ground.

 

For the next few months they’d be fighting Canaanite armies

on their home turf, and Israel needed to be shown God’s power. So, God brought them to the Jordan river…

for a little Show And Tell.

 

In Joshua 3:10- Joshua said, “Here is how you

shall know that THE LIVING GOD IS AMONG YOU

and that he will without fail DRIVE OUT FROM BEFORE YOU

the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites,

the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth

is passing over before you into the Jordan…

and when the soles of the feet of the priests

bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth,

shall rest in the waters of the Jordan,

the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing,

and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”

 

The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant

had to step into the water before it stopped flowing.

The miracle didn’t happen until their feet got wet.

We often want confirmation before commitment.

But God calls us to move in faith.

The waters won’t part until we step in.

What river are you standing before today?

What step is God asking you to take?

 

So, as soon as they’re at the edge of the Jordan,

God leads them into the waters.

The feet of the priests touch the Jordan,

and the waters pile up in a heap on their right.

Then, the Priests stepped out into the middle of the riverbed - and that’s where the priests stood until all the Israelites

crossed the river and reached the other side.

 

 

 

Then a man from each of the 12 tribes picked up a big rock

from the riverbed and carried it out of the riverbed

to be set up as a memorial to God’s power.

And another 12 huge stones were piled at the place

where the priests had stood in the riverbed

and THAT pile of stones was also a memorial.

Then Israel made camp at a place called Gilgal

not far from the mighty city of Jericho.

 

Now, that’s a cool story… but what difference does it make to us? Why should we care what God did there?

Well, Romans 15:4 tells us that

“whatever was written in former days (the Old Testament)

was written for our instruction, that through endurance

and through the encouragement of the Scriptures

we might have hope.”

 

So, what could God possibly have meant to teach us in this story of the crossing of the Jordan. (PAUSE)

 

WE ARE TO ALWAYS Remember What God Has Done

One group of 12 huge stones were picked up from the riverbed and made into a memorial on land…

and there was another 12 stones set up

in the middle of the Jordan – also as a memorial.

And when this 2nd group of stones were placed

IN the waters of the Jordan and the

waters were released by God… those stones

would be buried in water. And that part of the story bothered me.

 

Why would God want 12 stones in the river as a memorial?

You’d never see them there! That didn’t make any sense.

And so that troubled me, until another minister pointed out

that when Israel crossed the Jordan…

they left their past behind them.

All the hardships of their former life were going be buried

in the cold waters of the Jordan… just like those stones.

After the crossing, God commands twelve stones to be taken from the riverbed and set up as a memorial. Why? Because we forget. We forget the miracles, the provision, the faithfulness.

• What are your memorial stones? What moments in your life testify to God’s power?
• The twelve stones taken from the riverbed were a physical reminder of God’s miracle. They told a story to future generations.

 

Years ago, an old time minister baptized a man

in Lake Superior. It was late October and about 9:00 PM.

The minister had been studying with the man and his wife about what the Bible taught about baptism

The man was hesitant for a long time and then finally said, “Yes, I want to be baptized tonight –

RIGHT NOW in Lake Superior.”

 

In case you don’t know… Lake Superior is a cold lake.

Average temperature (year-round) is about 38 degrees

AND this was late October. The waves were running

3 feet high. The water was very cold.

 

They intended to walk out waist deep into the water,

but only made it about knee deep.

The minister laid the man down into the water

as the waves washed over him. And the man

was baptized that night… into Christ.

 

When they got back to the man’s home for hot cocoa

and a hot soak for their cold feet

the minister asked the man why it was so important

that he wanted baptized that night in Lake Superior.

The man boldly answered:

“I was in the army, an officer in the infantry

during the Viet Nam war. I saw and did things

that no man should see or do.

And I wanted my sins buried in the deepest

and coldest place…”

·         That’s what God told us takes place in baptism. 

·         Romans 6:3-4 tells us “Do you not know that all of us

who have been baptized into Christ Jesus

were baptized into his death?

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death,

in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead

by the glory of the Father, we too might walk

in newness of life.”

 

·         When we rose from the waters of baptism,

our sin and shame stayed in the water.

And that’s why the 12 stones were set up

under the waters of the Jordan.

All of Israel’s past REMAINED under the waters

of that mighty river. So that made sense.

That explained why the stones were set up

in the middle of the riverbed and would be buried

under its waters.

 

 

 

 

·         But then (the next question would be)

·         why set up the other 12 stones on land?

·         Well… Joshua told the 12 men who carried these stones: “take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, THAT THIS MAY BE A SIGN AMONG YOU. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel A MEMORIAL FOREVER." Joshua 4:5-7

 

So, what was the purpose of the 12 stones

they brought out of the riverbed to set up on land?

It was a Memorial. A place to remember

what had been done that day at the Jordan.

You know, Jesus gave us a way to REMEMBER

what He had done for us. Paul wrote the Corinthians

and told them that

“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’” I Corinthians 11:23-25

 

·         COMMUNION IS OUR MEMORIAL.

·         When we take of it each week, we are REMINDED

of what Jesus did for us. When we eat of the bread

we should remember that Jesus’ body was broken for us.

His body was wounded and bruised, and His flesh and skin were torn.

As Isaiah 53:5 tells us “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace.”

And the bread reminds us of that suffering.

 

The priests stood in the middle of the river until everyone crossed. Their obedience created a path for others.

• REMEMBER: Your faith walk isn’t just about you.

When you trust God, you create space for others to follow. Your courage can be someone else’s confirmation.

 

Conclusion:

Joshua 4:11 says, “And when all the people

had finished crossing over,

the Ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side.”

 

The journey ends with God still in the center.

This story isn’t just about a river—it’s about a rhythm.

God calls.

We step.

He moves.

We remember.

 

 

FINAL Questions

• What “Jordan River” are you facing right now?
• What step of faith is God asking you to take?
• What memorial stones can you set up to remember His faithfulness?

 

Closing Prayer

“Lord, thank You for going before us.

Help us to step into the waters with faith,

knowing You will make a way.

May we never forget the miracles You’ve done in our lives.

Let our stories be stones that testify

to Your goodness for generations to come.

Amen.”

 

 

Destroy This Temple

Destroy This Temple

John 2:18-22

 

INTRO: Good morning church. Today we will continue in John chapter 2, John 2:18-22. Last time we saw Jesus had declared that those who were ruling in the temple complex had profaned the temple because of the commerce that they have been conducting there.

 

Jesus has challenged their authority to do this, and He has driven out the animals, sellers, and the money changers from the temple courts. The Jews want to know by what authority Jesus is doing these things and that in and of itself is a pretty sad statement. They do not see Jesus’ cleansing as; Here is the Lord entering His temple, being zealous for pure worship, telling them this is my father's house and clearing out the traders, as we noted was predicted in Zachariah 14:21. Rather than being introspective about this, they want to get back to doing the things they've been doing.

 

They say, “Who gives you the right to do this? “Who do you think you are to come in here and upset things that we've been doing all this time? “Who says that you have any authority to overturn our tables and to drive out these animals?”

 

That's where we are in our text in John chapter 2. Let’s reread starting in verse 13 and then pick up in verse 18 to get the whole scene.

 

John 2:13-22, “13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

 

18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”[ESV]

 

This is an interesting turn of events. The religious leaders say, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?”[NAS] In other words, “Who do you think you are? “We need some authority before we believe you.” This is certainly going at Jesus directly. That is why the disciples remember this phrase; zeal for your house will consume me.

The leaders are challenging Jesus’ authority, wanting to justify their own actions, discredit Him, and get back to the ‘worship’ they want to have it in the temple courts. Therefore, Jesus says He will give them an appropriate sign for their problem.

 

I.     The Sign - Jesus’ response is fascinating. Verse 19, “…Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

A.   One of the things that we need to contextually consider is that John has quite a habit of marking out misunderstandings throughout this gospel. In particular he backs up a lot of them right here.

1.    Think about what we saw as a lack of understanding when Jesus performs the miracle of turning the water to wine at the wedding in Cana. Remember the master or steward of this feast had no idea where the wine was from. He said to the groom, “You have saved the best for last.” There we see a misunderstanding. Here again, the people, as this statement is made, do not understand what Jesus is talking about.

2.    When we get to chapter 3, we are going to see Jesus engage Nicodemus. Nicodemus does not understand what it means to be born again or born of the spirit.

3.    When we get to chapter 4, the woman at the well, does not understand what this living water is that Jesus is offering.

B.   I suggest what John is pointing out is that people do not understand. They do not comprehend His purpose. They do not observe Him as the Son of God, yet. People do not understand who He is. We will see this misunderstanding again in chapter 6, and chapter 13. It is going to keep happening in John's Gospel for us to observe. Keep that in mind as we look at this text.

1.    What the Jews say in verse 20 is interesting. “The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”” Immediately they begin to think about the physical temple as Jesus is standing in the temple complex. They think Jesus is talking about this physical structure.

2.    Jesus knew the hearts of men and He knew what was precipitating from the temple cleansing. They think He is talking about the temple itself. Recorded elsewhere Jesus is going talk about the destruction of the temple. That is not the point here. At this point, we are given the picture of them not understanding. They do not realize what Jesus is talking about.

3.    I have read this expansion of the Temple was started around 18 B.C. by Herod the Great. The Temple itself was functional within three and a half years from the start of construction, allowing for dedication and worship.

4.    As an aside, while the main structures were largely completed during Herod's reign, construction at the complex continued for decades, possibly until the 60s AD, as reflected in Josephus' reference to additions under the procurator Lucceius Albinus (c. 62–64 AD). A year or so later the Jewish revolt against Rome begins in Judea. In response Titus leads in the Roman forces around 69 AD. Jerusalem is conquered and the temple (and much of the city) is destroyed in September of AD 70.

C.   This misunderstanding is crucial in what John tells us. Repeatedly, this statement Jesus makes will be the linchpin to get Jesus killed. That's why verse 17, “zeal for your house will consume me”, is a critical, prophetic statement. A prophetic statement made by David in Psalm 69. The disciples are seeing the prophecy here as well and applying it to Jesus.

1.    Let’s look at where we see this; like in Matthew chapter 26, when Jesus is on trial and they're unable to find any witnesses to convict Him and put Him to death. Matthew 26:59f – “59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61 and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’””[ESV] That's not what Jesus said, not even close to what Jesus said.

2.    Then we see Jesus on the cross. What are the people saying as they go by Him in Matthew 27? Matthew 27:39f – “39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.””

3.    This statement by Jesus becomes a central peg to what the Jews are going to use against Him. He said the temple of God was going to be destroyed. That's the reason we should crucify Him. Then as the people go by, if you're really the Son of God, then come on down. You said you could do something miraculous like destroy our temple and raise it in three days. Here we are killing you. You're truly not God, are you?

D.   When we look carefully at it, we see that Jesus doesn't say that He would destroy the temple. He said that they would. He says destroy this temple. That's what you are going to do, but I'm going to raise it up three days later.

1.    Jesus is telling the Jewish leaders questioning Him; You are in the destroying process. You are the ones that are destroying the temple. That might have caused them to understand things a bit differently if they had truly listened to what Jesus was saying. Unfortunately, they didn't.

2.    Jesus is prophesying His death and is referring to Himself as John narrates in verse 21, speaking about the temple of His body, and is making this prophetic statement. We see how closely that connects to the prophecy of David, zeal for your house will consume me. He says that to them; You're going to destroy this temple, but I'm going to raise it up in three days.

E.   I strongly think this is the reason why John is so closely connecting this event to the Passover. We saw this in verse 13. John starts this by saying it’s the Passover to show us that this death is not accidental or merely an incident in history. Jesus is the prepared Passover lamb who is going to die for the sins of the world.

1.    His zeal for His Father, His desire for pure worship and a right relationship with God is going to get Him killed according to the plan of God because He is the lamb that is to be slaughtered. It is interesting to see John work this together. Here he is pointing out that Jesus is causing hostility. He is making enemies. They are going to consume Him because of His zeal.

2.    John is subtly saying that this is all according to the plan. He is the Passover lamb. Just because all this hostility is pouring upon Him does not mean that this is outside the bounds of God's purposes. Everything is going according to plan as the Passover lamb is being prepared to be sacrificed for the sins of the people.

F.    I have a question right here. Why does Jesus call Himself the temple? Why does Jesus intentionally bring about this misunderstanding? If Jesus had only desired to predict the resurrection then He could have done so like He did in the other Gospel accounts. Matthew 12:39-40, Jesus answered them – “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” He could have emphasized resurrection alone. He doesn't do that here. He intentionally ties Himself to the temple by calling Himself the temple.

II.    Destroy the temple. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Why is Jesus doing that? Why does Jesus want to connect Himself, His body, to the temple concept?

A.   Let’s look in the Old Testament and put ourselves in the mind of Israel for a moment. Begin to feel the weight and the significance of what the temple meant to those people.

1.    The most obvious thing about the temple of God is, of course, this was where the presence of God was. This was the image of the relationship of God being with His people. The idea of the tabernacle and also of the temple, is that God is with us. His presence is with us.

2.    It symbolized a relationship with God, and that we are in His good graces. When we read those prophetic images, like the one in Ezekiel where God leaves the temple, it is meaningful to say that God is no longer with His people. He's no longer in relationship with them and judgment is due them.

B.   We also should consider what made the temple extremely important is that this is where atonement was made. This is where people came for atonement. We've observed in Acts, and our study of the Old Testament, that there are three times the people had to come to Jerusalem to be able to give their offerings and sacrifices at the temple. Here we have atonement images in all three instances as a reminder of what God was doing for them.

1.    Atonement was made in the Holy of Holies. The high priest would go into that place where the Ark of the Covenant was, sprinkling blood on the mercy seat. This was the place where God was meeting His people, where atonement was being found and mercy would be dispensed.

2.    Consider also the significance of what was in the Ark of the Covenant. That imagery reaches into this as well. There's a reason why there are three things that are contained in that Ark of the Covenant.

a.    The first thing that's always noted is the tablets of stone symbolizing the law of God. This is the memorial of God giving His laws. It is a memorial of the covenant with His people.

b.    Remember also Aaron's rod is in the Ark of the Covenant. It played an important part in the miracles of God's deliverance of the people out of Egypt. It is a reminder of God's powerful hand, the miraculous deliverance that God would give the people.

c.    Third, we also see a pot of manna. That showed God’s provision as they wandered through the wilderness. God miraculously is providing and taking care of His people. These three things were not just idle things in the Ark of the Covenant.

3.    From top to bottom, the temple has all kinds of symbolism. The place where God’s presence is symbolized. It was in there where mercy and atonement are found, where blood was sprinkled. Including what was inside the Ark of the Covenant, symbolizing the covenant and the law, and God's deliverance, and God's blessings. The temple was a very important structure. It embodies all of what God had promised for Israel from His presence to His blessings to His deliverance.

C.   Jesus transfers all of that imagery, all of that symbolism onto Himself. It is staggering to think of all that power, of what the temple stood for to Israel, and all that was included in that imagery.

1.    Jesus transfers all that meaning and places it directly upon Himself. This is where we come in contact with the Father and have a relationship with the Father.

2.    What we're going to observe is Jesus showing the irrelevance of the temple altogether. Jesus is saying by referring to Himself as the temple, this is where God is.

This is where you come to the Father.

This is where you learn about the Father.

In Jesus you find a relationship with the Father.

Coming to Jesus now rather than the temple is how one finds atonement.

When you come to Jesus now, there is where you find mercy.

3.    Jesus is the embodiment of the law. The tablets of stone are not relevant and not necessary. Jesus embodies all of the law not only in His fulfillment, but also in His revelation. Hebrews 1:1-2, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”

He is the embodiment of the law of God.

He is the place where God miraculously delivers His people.

He is a prophet like Moses who delivers people out of their spiritual bondage of slavery to sin and brings them deliverance and brings them into covenant relationship with God.

4.    It also pictures a pouring out of blessings. A picture Paul would use throughout Ephesians.

Every spiritual blessing is in Christ.

They are no longer tied to the temple.

They are not being tied to a physical structure or being tied to the physical Israel.

D.   Perhaps most important in what John is telling us is the temple was the place where you worship God. That's what this has been about. Their worship is corrupted. That is a warning for us today as well. Somebody once said when asked how to handle corruption in a congregation; “Remember What Would Jesus Do, and then consider—overturning the tables and making a whip of cords is within the realm of possibilities.”

1.    Jesus comes into the temple complex and what's the problem? It's a marketplace. It's not a place of prayer. It's not a place of thanksgiving. It's not truly a place of worship anymore. It's a place of buying and selling, and graft. It's about business.

2.    Jesus is the place of worship. If you're going to worship the Father, you must be in connection with Jesus. He is now that very location. I think that is the significance of what Jesus is doing, what He is driving at, and is so important for us to understand when we see He would be crucified and then raised from the dead three days later.

3.    I marvel at this imagery that the true temple of God is now going to be revealed in Jesus. Yes, they are going to destroy this temple in that they are going to destroy the human body, but Christ is the temple that can not be destroyed. This is the place where we come in contact with God. There's nothing that you can do to get rid of that.

E.   What a contrast that is to the physical temple that would be overrun, rebelled against and destroyed again and again. All the problems that would happen in Jerusalem and the temple, even to what we see today, is completely irrelevant now because that has all been transferred to Jesus. Jesus is the location.

1.    What Jesus is doing is not merely cleansing the temple; He is replacing the whole thing. He is not cleansing the temple and getting the Old Law back on track.

2.    He says what you're doing is wrong. You're out of fellowship with God. Your worship is improper. He's eliminating the whole thing and replacing it and saying you need to come to me.

F.    This is a theme that we will see again as we go forward in our look at John’s Gospel. Let me preview.

1.    Think about Nicodemus in chapter 3. What's He telling Nicodemus about being in the kingdom of God? You must believe in the Son.

2.    What's He telling the woman at the well? You have to come to me. He tells her that worship to God will not be on the mountain nor in Jerusalem. We don’t care about temples in Jerusalem anymore. Christ is the total replacement.

3.    Jesus is the true center of worship. The risen Lord is the place where God is revealed, where forgiveness is found, where the renewal is known, and where God's fellowship is experienced and forever maintained.

G.   Jesus is doing something extraordinary here and we can see why the antagonism would be so great. I suspect, even if they had begun to understand what Jesus was saying, it probably would have pushed them faster to killing him.

Jesus is showing them the true temple.

When you worship Jesus, you're worshiping God.

When you come to Jesus, you find the forgiveness of God.

When you come to Jesus, you find the mercy of God.

When you come to Jesus, you find the deliverance of God.

When you come to Jesus, you find the blessings of God.

When you come to Jesus, you find the covenant law of God.

Zeal for your house will consume me is exactly the point that John observes for us.

 

CONCLUSION:

I’ll mention a few points to consider as we wrap this up.

The first, we see John noting that the Jews ask for a sign. They are asking, what authority do you have to come in here and cleanse the temple? Who do you think you are? The New American Standard says, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?”[NASB] Here Jesus uses resurrection as His authority.

That is really important. You need to believe in who I am. When I rise from the dead that settles everything. It does, it proves that He is divine, that He is God, and that everything He said about His relationship with the Father is true. He has the right to say that these people are out of relationship with God.

He has the right to tell people that the only way to come to the Father is through Him.

The only way to worship God properly is through Him.

He has the right to tell people if you seek any other path, you're going to destruction.

The reason why He can do that is the resurrection.

Destroy this temple, and I'll raise it up in three days. The resurrection becomes the proof.

 

We note verse 22. “When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”[ESV] After the resurrection, the disciples now understand this. When the resurrection happens, they think back to this and realize that is the authoritative moment.

 

That gives us great hope. Now if you want to know why you don't have to listen to anybody else, anybody else who claims to be a prophet or somebody sent from God or claiming to have a special revelation or thinks they have something that's worthy of sharing from God, it is because you can't trump resurrection. Matthew 17:5 – “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” You find this also in Mark 9:7 and Luke 9:35. The resurrection shows us this is the Son and we need to listen to what He has to say.

 

Second, what's John's purpose in this gospel? So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. These events have that intended effect.

 

Remember what we saw at the wedding in Cana Jesus performs the miracle and verse 11 tells us, and His disciples believed him. Jesus reveals His glory, the disciples then believe in who He is. It does the same thing here, verse 22, when He's raised from the dead, what do they do? They believe the scripture and they believe everything that Jesus said.

 

Third, Jesus is the place where God comes to His people. Jesus is the place that we need to turn to. The more that I study this gospel, the more I am astounded by loose Christianity in the world that declares, you can find any way you want to God. When I hear this I realize they have not studied John very well because John is very adamant, scene after scene, driving home the point that Jesus is the one true way.

 

The only place to find worship in God is through His son, Jesus Christ. It is the only place that we find atonement, mercy, forgiveness, blessings, and deliverance. There's no other.

 

Jesus is that one place. John is placing the supremacy of Christ in our hearts. Teaching us to appreciate who He is, seeing Him as way more than just a man, far more than just a prophet. Not just somebody who did good works.

 

He is somebody to be obeyed, to be awestruck by, to be revered and to follow because He is the only way to God and there is no other.

 

The message is yours. The invitation is there for any who have a need to be baptized into Christ, or those who need prayers of faithful people, to come forward while we stand and sing.

 

# ???

 

Reference Sermon: Brent Kercheville

 

Are You an Egg, Carrot or Coffee Bean?

Matthew 5:7-16

A wealthy businessman lay on his deathbed. His preacher came to visit and talked about God’s healing power and prayed for the businessman.

When the preacher was done, the businessman said, “Preacher, if God heals me, I’ll give the church a million dollars.” Miraculously, the businessman got better and within a few short weeks was out of the hospital.

Several months later, the preacher bumped into this businessman on the sidewalk and said, “You know, when you were in the hospital dying, you promised to give the church a million dollars if you got well. We haven’t received it as of yet.”
The businessman replied, “Did I say that? I guess that goes to show how sick I really was!”

 

A few years’ back two guys interviewed thousands of people, and they published their findings in a book called The Day America Told the Truth.
Of those surveyed,

91% said that they lie on a regular basis.
86% said they lie to their parents regularly,
75% said they lie to their friends,
68% said they lie to their spouses.
50% said they regularly called in to work sick when they weren’t

 

Proverbs 22:1 – “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”
What is your reputation?
Do people see you as someone who has set a good example to follow?
Do they see a correlation between what you profess and how you live?
Is your home, your place of employment, and your community influenced by how you live your life?

 

Listen to what Jesus said about how our relationship with Him should impact those that live around us;
Matthew 5:13 – “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
Salt has a number of uses.

It adds taste to food, melts ice, creates thirst.

But in the first century salt was used primarily as a preservative. Jesus’ audience didn’t have refrigeration—when they butchered meat or caught fish they packed the meat in salt to preserve it.

You can still buy country hams that are salt-cured.

When Jesus said that you are the salt of the earth, He acknowledged that decay is inevitable in a fallen world. Left alone, culture will always deteriorate, without Christ the world will rot.

Jesus was saying that your job is to preserve truth and conserve Godly values in society. You permeate the world and help maintain wholesomeness in the culture.

Jesus said that if salt loses its saltiness it’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and tromped on like sand in a path.

Technically, Sodium Chloride cannot lose its saltiness, but the salt mined from the Dead Sea was so polluted with other minerals that it lost its preserving abilities.
If a Christian becomes polluted by the sin and philosophy of the world we lose our preserving ability.

Our job as Christians is to add flavor and create a thirst for God

Matthew 5:14 – “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden”
Light does one particular thing: it dispels darkness.
Light illuminates a potentially dangerous path and makes it safe.
Christians are to be luminaries along the path to God.

We’re to be spotlights showing the way to salvation.
The role of God’s people has always been to be light in the darkness

Isaiah 49:6 says, “I will...make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Matthew 5:16 – Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

 

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.

She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

It seemed as if one problem was solved, but a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen.

She filled three pots with water and placed each on the stove and soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last, she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

 

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.

She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.

She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘Tell me what you see.’

‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ the daughter replied.

 

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.

The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.

The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, ‘OK, BUT what is your point?’

 

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. BUT each reacted in a different way.

 

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting.

However, after being subjected to boiling water, it softened and became weak.

 

The egg had been fragile.

Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

 

The ground coffee beans were unique, however.

After they were in the boiling water, they changed the water.

 

‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter.

‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?

Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

 

THIS MORNING I WANT TO ASK EACH OF US…

Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

 

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?

Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship, or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?

Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

 

Or am I like the coffee bean?

The bean changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.

When the water gets hot, it releases fragrance and flavor.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?

How do you handle adversity?

 

IN TODAY’s TEXT JESUS TELLS US

A FEW WAYS TO HANDLE ADVERSITY

1^st SHOW MERCY
Matthew 5:7 – “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
One of the best ways to influence the world for Christ is to show mercy to the hurting.

Jesus told a parable about a man who was mugged and left for dead along the Jericho highway.

Two religious men came by, saw his condition, and passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan, a man of despised race, came by and had mercy on him.

He bandaged his wounds, took him to a nearby hotel and paid for all his medical expenses.

 

Jesus asked the crowd, “Who did the right thing?”

Everyone in the audience agreed—the one who showed compassion on him.
Even the most cynical skeptic instinctively knows mercy is good.

Mercy is a bridge.
It’s a bridge that God built so He can relate to you and me.
It’s also a bridge we have to build if we’re going to relate lovingly to others.

The greatest example of mercy is found in Jesus Christ at the cross.
It’s a fulfillment of Psalm 85:10 – “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed.”

 

2^nd HAVE A PURITY OF HEART
Matthew 5:8 – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
The heart is the center of our being.
It’s the master control area of life
Proverbs 4:23 –“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

 

The heart is the source of all of our trouble
Matthew 15:19 – “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, and false testimony.”

Psalm 19:14 – “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

The world respects people who are genuine and pure in heart.

So, may we strive for a pure heart.
To be pure in heart means to have pure thoughts and genuine motives.
There is a consistency between your beliefs and behavior.
A person who is pure in heart is sincere and authentic.

 

3^rd … Jesus tells us to BE A PEACEMAKER
Matthew 5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”

“Peacemakers release tension, they don’t intensify it. Peacemakers calm the waters, they don’t trouble them.

Do you recall when David and his angry warriors were galloping toward the home of the rancher, Nabal, armed for battle?

Nabal had arrogantly refused to pay David’s men what was due them.
Nabal’s wife, Abigail, sized up the coming bloodshed and took action.
She prepared a catered meal for David and his men; rode out to meet them, fed them, apologized for her husband’s ignorance, and pleaded for forgiveness.

She defused the hostility and war was averted.
David said, “May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day” (1 Samuel 25:33).

Abigail was a peacemaker.

She was perceptive to the problem.

She sacrificed her pride and energy to avoid conflict and she facilitated reconciliation.

David was so impressed that when Nabal died several days later, he asked Abigail to marry him.
Sometimes you make peace by avoiding a potential conflict with someone else.
A peacemaker absorbs the hurt and sacrifices self to maintain a positive relationship.

 

And 4^th Jesus warns us that we should EXPECT PERSECUTION FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Matthew 5:10-12 – “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Notice the reason for persecution:

It is for the sake of righteousness.

Sometimes when you’re merciful, pure, and peaceful, your standards tend to incriminate others and that may cause them to attack you.
Jesus was perfect yet the world crucified Him.
If we seek to follow Him we must anticipate some opposition.
All around the world there are people who face life and death because of their faith.

Sometimes when you try to be salt and light, you can be the victim of intense opposition.
Jesus said, “If you are persecuted, don’t whine, don’t holler “foul,” and threaten to sue for every dime.

We are to rejoice and be glad for three reasons:
1. First, you’re in good company—that’s the way God’s prophets were treated.
2. Second, your reward in heaven will be greater.
3. Third, when the world sees us respond with joy instead of anger, they will be attracted to Jesus Christ.

Paul and Silas were arrested in Philippi, beaten by the jailer, and placed in stocks in a damp, inner dungeon.
Instead of complaining to the jailer about their abuse, the Bible says, “Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God.”
And the prisoners heard them.

 

I am sure they had heard all kinds of profanity from the inner dungeon, but never singing and praising.
Then an earthquake shook the entire prison and everyone was freed.
The jailer prepared to commit suicide because he was responsible for them.

But Paul called out, “Don’t harm yourself, we’re all here!

The jailer called out, “What must I do to be saved?”

 

Why was he so receptive to the gospel?

Why did he listen to Paul’s instruction and then be baptized the same night?
Because when Paul and Silas were persecuted, they rejoiced and praised God.

Our reputation is important and it should reflect Christ.

What we have as Christ followers is not because of what we’ve done but because of what Christ has done.
We have salvation and an eternal inheritance not because of anything that we could do but because of the good name of Jesus Christ.
We have a wonderful place to spend eternity because of a Savior who has gone there to prepare a place for us.

 

Zeal for Your House

 

John 2:12-17

 

INTRO: Good morning church. Last week Mark began teaching on the section of scripture we call the beatitudes where Jesus sat down, His disciples came to Him and He began to teach them. Today we will look at Jesus teaching them in a different way.

 

Our text is John 2:12-17. The Apostle John begins this section, that we often describe as the cleansing of the temple, by calling it the Passover of the Jews. He concludes the section in verse 23 by again noting that it's the Passover feast of the Jews. I suspect that John noting this is the Passover twice indicates there's something important we should look for. There is some critical symbolism here in this observation that it is the time of the Passover.

It is important to keep in mind that John's gospel is not in chronological sequence. That is not his purpose. This gospel is in theological sequence, in that John is choosing signs and events to argue a particular theological point. His focus is that all would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He's not just telling us about the life of Jesus, and not just recording various events. He's selecting events and selecting signs that will validate his point in this theology of who Jesus is as the Son of God.

 

That is important for a number of reasons. First of all, it is sometimes argued based upon John's gospel, that Jesus cleansed the temple twice. It has been suggested that what we see here in John 2 is an early cleansing, and then in Matthew 21, Mark 11, and Luke 19, we read about a cleansing that occurs near the end of His life. I am not sure about that. Instead I suspect what has occurred is that John has moved this event into the front of his gospel for some reason.

 

One reason for my thinking this is that none of the gospels record two of these events. If there had been two, the other gospels would probably have recorded them. We would expect to find two events in the gospels that describe a more chronological sequencing of Jesus' life. I note though, the other gospels only record a cleansing once.

 

I suspect John is pulling it forward and sticking it after the wedding at Cana and before the discussion with Nicodemus for some reason. Let’s start thinking about what John is doing here. What is his purpose? Keep that in mind.

 

We also note that the Gospel of John is probably the Gospel that was written last. The contents and the structure of this Gospel presuppose the reader's familiarity with the three synoptic gospels. According to tradition this Gospel was written at the end of the first century AD. Therefore John has no reason to recap and rehearse what are in the other gospels. He has a purpose. He has a point.

 

John does not have to write this gospel like a newspaper reporter recording all the facts in some particular sequence. He's already told us he has a purpose. John isn't marking Passover so that we would have time markers and know that three years went by.

 

When John mentions a Passover, I suspect he's got some kind of Passover symbolism that he's inserting with this sign or event.

 

With that in mind, let's read the whole story.

I.        Temple Court Scene – John 2:13-17, “13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.””

A.     It is the Passover time that tells us every male Jew from all over the land is coming. This is one of the three appointed times when male Jews had to come for their offering and sacrifices. It would have been a very busy scene.

1.      Verse 14 records that in the temple complex are found those selling animals and birds, and those changing money. These animals and birds were required offerings in the Jewish sacrifices; however, can you imagine a Jew who lived in Rome ensuring that his animal made the trip all the way to Jerusalem without any blemish? It became an element of convenience to purchase the offering when you arrived. I have also read at some point the worshipers were required to purchase them from the temple functionaries and were not allowed to bring their own.

2.      On top of that, the money changers are there because the scriptures describe what would be called a temple tax in first century times. Each person was to give what would be a half shekel as part of their census. You can find that described in Exodus 30:12-14.

3.      Also the only money allowed be used in such purchases or tax was the coinage controlled by the temple. The denarius and other coins were prohibited, probably due to the image on the coin. Thus, with the temple concessionaires having the only supply of animals and a supply of money by which they could have been purchased, there was ample opportunity for graft.

II.      Jesus’ Response - Jesus does not simply scold them and say, you shouldn't be doing this; it is not an appropriate thing to do. This is a pretty ferocious act we see as He takes some cords, binds them together and drives them all out of the temple. Not only that, but He poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.

A.     This is quite a disturbance, quite a scene that is taking place in these temple courts. I suspect getting the attention of all the Jews coming there. They are looking to purchase these animals and pay their tax, and Jesus comes in like a tornado, completely obliterates the tables and runs the animals off.

1.      What are you doing Jesus? What is going on here? Aren’t they just providing a service of convenience to these people as they try to worship God? I think the description that Jesus gives in verse 16 is important to be able to understand what He is driving at.

2.      Notice in verse 16 He says, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” This is what John records, now let’s compare it with the other gospel accounts. In Matthew 21:13 “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” In Mark 11:17 “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” Luke 19:46, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” It appears in the other gospel accounts; the problem emphasized is they are cheating the people.

3.      Apparently in the exchange rate of the coins and the purchasing of the animals they are making unfair profit. In the synoptic accounts it sound like they are taking advantage of this process. We notice that's not the point Jesus makes here as John highlights.

B.     John does not emphasize Jesus’ point that the merchants have made this a den of robbers. Nor is Jesus criticizing not bringing their offerings from home. The issue is clear that the problem is business was being done in the temple courts! That's what He identifies. Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade. You've turned this into a marketplace.

1.      That's the idea Jesus drives at as John points out. What is at stake here is people are no longer focused on worshipping God in this complex. What should have been a place of reverence, a place of prayer, a place of praising God, has now turned into a supermarket.

2.      We can imagine all the hubbub that is going on with this trading. That is Jesus’ point. I think this offers us a reminder about the nature of our worship. I first want to make a caveat that it is important to recognize that the temple, or the church building, is not the point. The point is NOT to say, within these walls God lives and that’s why this merchandising shouldn't be happening. No, that is not the case.

3.      In fact even regarding the temple itself, God didn’t actually live there. Stephen said in Acts 7:48 – “Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?”” Stephen referred to the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 66:1f. Even Solomon understood that for all the glory of what he built, God doesn’t actually live there.

4.      The parallel for us is not to suggest that God lives here. The parallel is that this is supposed to be a place of worship. The purpose wasn't for them to set up tables, make money, turn it into a marketplace, rip people off, if that's what they're doing. That's not what is supposed to be going on. This is supposed to be a place of devotion to God; of worship, of prayer, of encouragement, of fellowship, and of learning. It is where hearts are supposed to be turned to God in a focus that is strictly on God!

C.    This is an important message in our day and time especially. In a time where churches are increasingly engaging in selling branded items like apparel, accessories, and study materials, driven by a desire to foster a sense of belonging, promote their activities, and _ generate _ revenue. I'm not kidding. Some are suggesting that selling merchandise can be a way to generate income to support their ministries and operations.

1.      This is a tremendous reminder that our purpose is not to come here and find a way to be comfortable, a way of convenience. That is not why we are here. Our purpose here is not to make money. Our purpose here is not to take your money. It's not about buying or selling. May we never do so.

2.      That's what these Jews had done to the temple courts. It had turned into a kind of marketplace and lost the singular focus of coming to worship God. That's what it should all be about. I believe that worship to God should be in our minds as the clear purpose of why we do the things that we do.

3.      Our singular focus should be worshiping God, and I believe that is what we learn from what John says. It's not about all the peripherals. When we come together, it should be coming to glorify God.

D.    When we come together, let's and avoid focus on anything else. This is what Jesus is criticizing them about. What a massive distraction is going on in these temple courts. Here you are, you have come to worship together and you have this hubbub, this marketplace of buying and selling, vendors calling, animals and birds making racket, this massive distraction from worship.

1.      It is a reminder to us to put aside distractions and come to the fountain of living water. That is what we're supposed to be doing. It is so easy for us to get sidetracked and become distracted with so many other things.

2.      We can do it mentally as well, because we are so concerned about the things of the world and the cares of the world and the schedule of the day or of the week or our phones.

3.      Consider how often and how easy it is to turn the worship of the true and living God into a consumer-driven experience. A funny YouTube video that I've seen is a thing that is called “What if the church was run like Starbucks?” I don't know if you've ever seen it or not. It's quite funny when you start trying to turn church into a business and you recognize the foolishness of what occurs.

4.      This is not about a consumer experience. In fact, coming here is not about our comforts. It's not about our convenience, and it's certainly not about our desires. We come here because we are keenly aware that we want to serve and worship God, and that is our primary focus.

5.      Jesus is indicating that the distractions these Jews were bringing about was an enormous problem because it was turning the hearts of the people and turning their focus away from the worship that should have been going on. We need to take great care that what we are doing is not causing people to no longer be able to worship God in a focused way.

E.     This cleansing of the temple is showing Jesus as the loyal son who has come to set right the worship that has gone wrong, to cleanse it of impure activity, to get people focused on the right thing. He does this in such an interesting way because what He does has messianic implications, though not directly stated. Yet, in the words “… My Father’s house…” we see the indication of the unique sonship of Jesus, and a focus on the messianic import of this event of cleansing. As A. M. Hunter noted, "The cleansing is far more than a Jewish reformer's act; it is a sign of the advent of the Messiah."

1.      Nowhere will we find in the Old Testament the direct statement saying when the Messiah comes, He will cleanse the temple. There are allusions to that idea however. Like In Zachariah 14 where he is talking of “The Coming Day of the Lord” and then in the very last line of Zechariah he says “And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.” Here's Zechariah making a curious prophecy of the wiping out of that kind of activity.

2.      Malachi begins Malachi 3 by speaking of the Lord coming to His temple and they will then begin to offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. What happened is they had allowed chaos to rule here rather than it being the place of coming to worship God.

3.      The church in Corinth was also admonished for letting chaos rule in 1^st Corinthians 14 which concludes “… all things should be done decently and in order.” What Jesus is doing is removing the barriers that are interfering with true worship of the living God.

4.      If we are properly putting our hearts on God and worshiping Him the way that we should, then we can't help but come away encouraged and lifted up. They didn't understand that. They had put the cart before the horse.

III.    The Disciples’ Reaction – John 2:17 - The disciples reaction is interesting. Look at what John says about this in verse 17. “His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”” The reason why I find this fascinating in light of what Jesus does, is they do not remember a scripture about God’s wrath. I find it interesting that it is not wrath that the disciples think of.

A.     It's zeal that comes to their minds. I think that is important for us to observe, because too often this text has been used to suggest that Jesus is in a fit of fury. He went all Clint Eastwood on them… Not from the perspective of His disciples.

1.      They do not perceive what Jesus is doing as wrath, but rather a calculated approach on Jesus part of telling them, look, this isn't the way it ought to be. He is zealous for that. He is concerned about what is going on in the house of worship.

2.      The scripture the disciples remember is in Psalm 69. In Psalm 69:7-12 we see the cause of David’s suffering. King Saul had classified David as an outlaw and is seeking him. In Psalm 69:9 David says, “For zeal for your house has consumed me…” How had it consumed him, eaten him up? It had precipitated the murder of the high priest and his entire family (close friends of David), and it had launched Saul's army in their ruthless hunt to seek out and kill David.

3.      David in a statement of sadness is calling out to God for salvation. He is overwhelmed and this is a psalm of despair. Notice it in Psalm 69:7, “For it is for your sake (speaking of God) For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons.” Why has this happened? Why are you enduring this hostility David? Why are you dealing with all of these reproaches and difficulties? Verse nine is the answer. “For zeal for your house has consumed me…”

4.      David is not saying he has an overwhelming emotion of zeal. That's not the point. David is enduring hostility because of the zeal he has for the Lord's house. The reference here is to the tabernacle of course. Had David been zealous for that? Certainly! Where did he take the sword of Goliath following his God-given victory over the Giant? He took it to the Lord's house, the tabernacle. That action, along with the sackcloth, the fasting, and the other acts of devotion adequately establish the truth that David did indeed exhibit a genuine "zeal for God's house."

5.      That's the point that's being described here by David. He wants others to understand that his zeal for the Lord's house has led to this intense hostility. This is the reason why he feels like he is suffering. This is the reason why he is sinking and has floodwaters overwhelming him. Others don’t seem to understand his commitment to the Lord. They don't understand his zeal and love for God. Because of that love for God, he is being eaten up and consumed by the hostility coming at him. They are trying to destroy him. They are trying to kill David.

B.     That's the backdrop of Psalm 69 brought forward to Jesus and to what John tells us. Jesus in this temple cleansing, is putting things right with God. He is calling for a cleansing of heart and showing a concern for the true worship of God and calling for people to have a right relationship with God.

1.      Because of His zeal and His concern for this right relationship and the calling for the people to have a right heart, He's going to endure hostility. He is going to be consumed. That's the picture that is being offered here. That's what the disciples are thinking. It is going to bring about hostility.

2.      I suspect the hostility is already starting, and that’s one of John’s intentions in pulling this forward. It is for us to see the start of hostility that Jesus is going to receive because of His zeal and His love for the father. It was precisely this manifestation of the Savior’s zeal that set in motion the murderous animosity of the religious apparatus in Jerusalem, which never relented. It is only going to grow and intensify.

3.      Here in John's account the words of Psalm 69:9 are prophetic. Zeal for your house, it's going to consume me. It is looking forward and saying this is what is going to happen. John is putting it together now in this scene. Look at the His love for God; look at His zeal for right and true worship. It will consume Him.

C.    The rest of Psalm 69 is also interesting. I intentionally cut that off the last part of Isaiah 69:9 which says in full, “For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.” God, I know I'm dealing with the hostility toward you because of my love for you, and my devotion for you. Their hatred for you now turns and comes upon me. Thus David expresses this in his love for God. He is enduring suffering and Jesus in His love for God will be enduring suffering as well.

D.    This passage is quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 15:1-4. “1. We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4. For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

 

CONCLUSION:

There are two fallouts that will occur because of our zeal and our love for God. The first is; if we truly love the Father, then we are going to deal with one another appropriately, graciously and kindly. That's how Paul begins in Romans 15:1-2.

 

Jesus did not please himself. Because of that, we know we are not in the business of pleasing ourselves. We're in the business of watching out for one another. In the process, there will be issues. We will be in second place. We will be concerned about what our actions and what our words mean for other people.

 

My love for God, my zeal for him, will bring that about. We certainly see that in the life of Jesus. We absolutely observe this as we begin to go through the pages of John. We're going to read about His love for the Father that shows the kind of compassion He has for the people, how He could look at people who were going to be His enemies and crucify Him and still be moved with compassion for them and the desire for them to be saved. The reason why, is because of His great devotion to the Father.

 

The other side of that coin is that in our zeal for the Father and our love for the Father, there is an expectation of hostility. There is an expectation of resistance from those who do not understand. The disciples experienced it. Jesus experienced it.

 

That is exactly what the apostle Paul is teaching in Romans 15. When we display that same fervency and devotion to our Lord and in our worship to Him, then just like David, just like our Lord's disciples, and just like our Lord Jesus Christ, we are going to suffer for the cause. We will endure reproach; we will bear with suffering what will come upon us, in our zeal for the things of God.

 

It already occurs in many ways. How often people think you're strange because you came back here because of your zeal for God. They say, well, you know, that's kind of kooky. You just need to go every once in a while, right? You know what? You guys are just kind of over the top. It happens from very subtle levels to very extreme levels where you will stand face to face against someone who's an enemy of the cross.

 

You'll be called upon to stand in your faith and say, I confess Jesus and I love Him with all of my heart. I will not deny Him and I will not cower and I will not hide my faith and love for Him. There is a need for a reminder that when we do that, there is always a strong reaction to it. The world today continues to have a strong reaction to those who profess their faith openly and declare their love and devotion for Jesus. We should not be surprised by this, it was predicted. This is exactly what the prophet is saying. Zeal for our Lord will bring about these kinds of difficulties. I pray that as we wrap up, we all have zeal so that it will bring about right action, and right words with one another.

 

Second, it will firm your foundation to deal with those who will oppose you as you try to do what is right, holy, and good for the sake of Jesus Christ. Lord willing, next Sunday, we'll get to look at the rest of this section where Jesus is talking about the destruction of the temple.

 

The message is yours. The invitation is there for any who have a need to be baptized into Christ, or those Christians who need prayers of faithful people, to come forward while we stand and sing.

 

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Reference Sermon: Brent Kercheville